diplomatica affairs 17 23 2013

Diplomatic AffairsJune 17-23, 2013

An eyeful of weekly

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Rs3.591 trillion outlayGovt unveils ‘investment, business friendly’ budget

2013-14Expert sees Pak-Saudi bilateral cooperation heightening (Interview Raja Amir-ur-Rehman, Chief Executive of Al-Waqas Enterprises)

Rodolfo Martin Saravia hosts reception for FSA under-training diplomats, dinner for Naghmana Hashmi

Week-long Austrian Food Festival attracts visitors

June 17-23, 20132

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Obama and Xi play nice, but future unclear

Transparency in Afghanistan

SHAUN TANDON

The leaders of the United States and China appear to have started off on friendly terms during a weekend together in the

California sun, but it remains to be seen if good vibes can bridge deep gaps.

At the aptly named Sunnylands re-treat, President Barack Obama gave his counterpart Xi Jinping a redwood bench as a gift, and the leaders of the rising and established powers took a 50-minute stroll with only their in-terpreters.

The two sides had billed the casual summit as a way to set a positive tone after Xi became president in March. Xi will probably be in charge over a decade in which China eclipses the United States as the world’s larg-est economy.

While the two governments had an obvious interest in describing the summit as a success, experts said that the talks at least went smoothly, not an insignificant feat considering the number of disputes.

“Did they emerge as the best of chums? That’s hard to tell — my guess is probably not. But they un-derstand each other and I think that’s important,” said Chris Johnson, a former CIA analyst on China who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“Both sides seemed to suggest that they can work with the other guy, and I think that’s very substan-tial,” he said. But the two sides could not paper over differences on cyber-security. Obama took China to task over alleged hacking that a recent study said has cost the US economy

hundreds of billions of dollars in intel-lectual property theft.

The United States and China have agreed to working-level talks on cyber disputes. The issue came at an awk-ward time for Obama, who is under fire at home over revelations that the United States has kept broad tabs on Internet messages and phone records for purported security reasons.

Edward Snowden, the contract employee who said he leaked details of online surveillance, fled to Hong Kong. If the United States seeks his extradition, his case would present an early test on how far Xi wants to work with Obama.

In one signal of cooperation, Washington and Beijing said that they would work together to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, the mega contributors to climate change found mostly in made-in-China refrigera-tors and air conditioners.

The statement was not entirely new — China had agreed in April to phase out production in return for in-ternational assistance — but it went with the theme of showing that the two powers can work together.

Representative Chris Smith, a Re-publican from New Jersey who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcom-mittee on Human Rights, voiced disappointment over the summit. He said that Obama, who mentioned hu-man rights in his opening statement, should have started the relationship with Xi by insisting on the release of imprisoned activists including Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel peace laureate who authored a bold petition for reforms.

“Making a cursory statement about human rights just is ineffective and it’s read that way by Beijing,” Smith told AFP.

“He is talking to the jailer of a No-bel Peace Prize winner. Imagine if the Nobel Peace Prize winner was Nelson Mandela and he was meeting with the (South African) leader and doesn’t mention — demand, frankly — the release of Nelson Mandela,” Smith said.

“It’s untenable, especially because he’s a Nobel Peace Prize winner him-self,” he said of Obama.

Aides said that Obama and Xi spoke at length about issues that have often divided the Pacific pow-ers, including North Korea and the rising friction between China and US ally Japan in the East China Sea.

Xi, seen as more effusive and con-fident than his famously stiff prede-cessor Hu Jintao, also raised his fre-quent theme of creating a “new type of great power relationship.”

The slogan, if vague, is sometimes seen as his call for China and the United States to avoid the conflict that has historically plagued relations between emerging and established powers.

A. Greer Meisels of the Wood-row Wilson Center for International Scholars said the summit could be seen as successful by going off with-out a hitch and avoiding missteps that have clouded many previous US-China meetings.

The talks showed that the two leaders “are taking this relationship very seriously and perhaps recog-nizing that things have been a bit of tense and a little off-kilter as of late,” she said.

“But this is obviously just a first step, so whether this generates ad-ditional momentum and additional positive knock-on effects, I think it’s still a little early to tell,” she said.

Yama Torabi

It’s a cold, damp day in Kabul, but the mood is all warmth and energy inside Yama Torabi’s of-fice, with its crackling woodstove and steady flow of civil society

reps, donors and government officials streaming in and out.

Torabi is the director of Integrity WatchAfghanistan (IWA), a small organisation that has succeeded in doing what few Afghan NGOs have attempted: holding the government – and the country’s many donors – to account for their actions, and their spending.

Torabi, who grew up in Afghani-stan, founded IWA seven years ago, while he was still working on his PhD in France.

“It came really as a reaction to the donors, who told me at the time that corruption was not an issue,” Torabi says. “But I knew that corruption was an issue that needed to be ap-proached, and that it was something urgent that [the donors] had to focus on.”

IWA started off as a thinktank, but Torabi and his colleagues quickly

moved into advocacy and hands-on monitoring work. “Doing research isn’t going to have a lot of impact in terms of bringing changes,” says Torabi, 37. Today, the organisation runs programmes that monitor the government budget, the extractive industry, and the courts. IWA has also started a community-based pro-gramme that encourages citizens to keep tabs on the aid-funded projects being implemented in their neigh-bourhoods.

There is plenty of aid money to track in Afghanistan, which is due to receive $16bn in foreign assistance over the next four years – and that’s not counting military spending. Do-nors are not always interested in tracking how and where their money is spent, Torabi says, despite their good intentions.

“It’s political … they have their spending imperatives,” Torabi ex-plains, adding that security concerns are also an issue. “[The donors] can’t work on the street, they can’t go to the provinces to check what their money is spent on.”

So IWA, which occupies a modest building on a muddy street in Kabul,

picks up the slack. “In the last year, we’ve been monitoring more than 250 projects – infrastructure pro-jects worth more than $230m,” Tor-abi says, noting that the challenges have been daunting at times.

“If you have 40 donors, you have to deal with 40 governments, and they all have different rules, they all have different policies, they all depend on the internal policies of their own gov-ernments,” he says.

IWA’s focus is on monitoring, but the organisation hasn’t abandoned its policy work. Recently, IWA has been pressuring the Afghan government to adopt a freedom of information law.

“At the moment, if you want to go and ask how much time it will take for the administration to deliver your passport, they will never give you the information,” Torabi says. “And if you don’t have the information, you’re tempted to pay a bribe in order to get it – and that is the beginning of cor-ruption.”

“India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, all of these countries have passed [free-dom of information] laws within the last 10 years, so we’re learning from them,” he says.

Fragile economy and balanced budget

The new government has presented its debut budget early after taking the saddle. The state of the coun-try’s economy is in earnest need of revamp. In this sce-nario, presenting budget and that too after a couple of

weeks of elections and assumption of power is a very appreci-able step. The new government, keeping in view the fragility of the national kitty, has presented a balanced budget. It is criti-cised mainly by some political parties, but the facts show that presenting budget in such an early stage is itself a remarkable achievement of the new government.

The targets set by the new government in the budget are now the main goals that need to be achieved while keeping within the available resources. The development funds allocated for various sectors should be utilised in an appropriate manner.

The budget is investment and business friendly, as it will hopefully thrive businesses in the country. However, the tax-evaders should at all costs be brought under the tax net, as the government has promised. It will help bring a balance in income and expenditures. The GDP growth rate has been set at 4.4 per cent, which is indeed a good figure amid the economic challeng-es facing the country.

The budgetary allocations for crucial sectors like health and education are also appreciable. However practical measures are mandatory to ensure development in these sectors for the masses welfare. The government has indicated to not relying on subsidies, as the finance minister said in his budget speech that they will prepare a comprehensive plan to improve the lot of poor and deprived segments of society. This statement should be materialised in real sense, as generally people wait for subsi-dies in every budget and the lack of them is always disappoint-ing. However it is hoped that the new government, as it has promised, would practically remove the miseries of people by controlling inflation. Keeping the Income Support Fund intact and increasing amount for it is a very good decision. Similarly setting the minimum pension level to Rs 6000 from Rs 3000 is also a big step.

However, the increase of sales-tax from 16 per cent to 17 per cent is a matter of concern. This should be brought down in or-der to provide relief to already inflation-hit people. The govern-ment decision to get rid of the menace of circular debt is very good, as it will help overcome the energy crisis. Improved energy supply will help industrial development.

The government has set targets for development of youth, as it has decided to launch a new laptop scheme. Youth are the real asset of a nation. The government must focus on equipping the youth with technical training and skills in order to enable them to create jobs for themselves.

The budget might not be so impressive in the eyes of many. It has drawn criticism as well. But amid the crises that have hit the economy and the challenges lying ahead of the government, the budget is balanced. Now, the government must focus on stabilisation of the economy while keeping resolution of masses problems its top priority. The government must take very result-oriented measures to fulfill its ambitions.

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An eyeful of weekly Chief Editor: Abubakar Siddique

Publisher, Abubakar Siddique published at House no: 20, Street No 29, F-8/1, Islamaabd

Editor’s NoteAbubakar Siddique

Chief Editor

OPINION

June 17-23, 2013 3


Myanmar’s moment?

Need for nuclear dialogue

Martin n. Baily and richard doBBs

Interest in Myanmar (Burma) has become intense. Last month, Thein Sein became the first president of Myanmar to visit the White House in nearly 50 years,

and leaders from British Prime Minis-ter David Cameron to India’s Manmo-han Singh to Japan’s Shinzo Abe have all visited Yangon.

Indeed, after years of absence, foreign governments are rushing to reopen their embassies in the country. Moreover, multilateral organisations and former ministers from around the world are flocking to help the authori-ties make progress on their ambitious agenda, from expanding electricity provision to building their own govern-ing capacity. Investors, too, are active-ly exploring opportunities.

This focus is not surprising. After years of economic isolation and ane-

mic growth, Myanmar is one of Asia’s last largely untapped markets. Now that the country is opening up, inves-tors are clearly hoping to establish sources of structural advantage that could last for many years.

But can investing in Myanmar live up to today’s soaring expectations? There are undoubtedly major uncer-tainties and risks. Investors are rightly nervous about how political reform will evolve; whether the government can maintain the fragile peace between ethnic groups; and how regulation and ownership rights will develop. Moreo-ver, it is difficult to quantify the econ-omy’s potential, given the paucity of reliable data; even basic indicators like population size and historical econom-ic growth are shrouded in uncertainty.

There is little doubt that Myanmar begins its development journey from a shockingly weak starting point, as a new report from the McKinsey Global

Institute (MGI) demonstrates. Indeed, Myanmar was virtually untouched by the global economy’s spectacular growth during the twentieth century. While global per capita GDP quadru-pled around the world, Myanmar’s was virtually flat.

Moreover, productivity is low. A worker in Myanmar added only $1,500 of economic value, on average, in 2010 – around 30 per cent of the average of eight Asian peers. Myanmar’s GDP is now only around 0.2 per cent of Asia’s, equivalent to the size of cities such as Bristol, Delhi, or Seville.

Myanmar needs a step-change in productivity growth. If Myanmar were to boost annual labor-productivity growth from an estimated 2.7 per cent to around 7 per cent, 8 per cent annual GDP growth would be possible. This could quadruple the size of the econo-my by 2030, with annual output rising to more than $200 billion, from $45

billion in 2010.But it is virtually inconceivable that

Myanmar could achieve such accel-eration in growth without large vol-umes of inward investment. The MGI research estimates that $170 billion — as well as the transfer of capabili-ties and knowledge that typically ac-company such investment — is needed between now and 2030.

Thus far, much of the interest among investors has been focused on Myanmar’s energy and mining sec-tors — no surprise, given the country’s large reserves of oil and gas, its 90 per cent share of global jade production, and its strong position in ruby and sap-phire mining. But Myanmar cannot rely on energy and mining alone. It needs growth that is balanced across sec-tors, providing diverse opportunities for inward investors.

Five sectors – energy and mining, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism,

and infrastructure – could account for more than 90 per cent of Myanmar’s total growth and employment poten-tial. Of these, manufacturing, which could take advantage of many compa-nies’ desire to relocate from China and other Asian economies where wages are rising, is by far the most important.

Myanmar faces monumental de-velopment challenges that embrace virtually every aspect of the economy. But that implies the broadest possible range of opportunities for companies and investors as well. They should proceed with caution, but with the ex-pectation of tapping into a potentially lucrative new market.

Martin N. Baily, Chairman of the US President’s Council of Economic Advisers under Bill Clinton, is Bernard L. Schwartz Chair in Economic Policy Development at the Brookings Institution. Richard Dobbs is a director of the McKinsey Global In-stitute

dr Maleeha lodhi

In a speech last month in Delhi, a distinguished former foreign secretary of India, Shyam Sa-ran, made several pronounce-ments about the evolution of

his country’s nuclear policy and the current status of its nuclear deterrent.

He cast these remarks as his per-sonal views. But Saran is current chairman of India’s National Secu-rity Advisory Board. Many in India and outside saw his statements as articulating official policy while maintaining deniability. The Times of India, for example, said Saran was “placing on record India’s of-ficial nuclear posture with the full concurrence of the highest levels of nuclear policymakers in Delhi”. And Islamabad asked Delhi for an official clarification.

The most consequential part of Saran’s speech is where he pre-sents a scenario that culminates with India engaging in “massive nuclear retaliation” against Paki-stan. He posits an escalatory lad-der that presumably starts with a sub-conventional event or terrorist attack, after which Pakistan tries to dissuade India from carrying out punitive conventional retaliation, by deploying its tactical nuclear weapons. India responds by using strategic weapons.

Saran warns that any nuclear attack — whether by strategic or tactical weapons — would be met by “massive retaliation” from India. “Pakistan”, he declares, should “be prudent not to assume otherwise as it sometimes appears to do, most recently by developing and perhaps deploying theatre nuclear weapons”.

Several of Saran’s assumptions are open to question. First there is a presumption that Pakistan’s decision to develop battlefield nuclear weapons represents a nu-

clear war-fighting option. Official spokesmen have repeatedly said that Pakistan regards the surface-to-surface solid fuel-based Hatf IX (Nasr) as primarily a weapon of deterrence. Its purpose is to rein-force deterrence and restore nu-clear stability. Islamabad remains committed to its nuclear policy of achieving credible nuclear deter-rence at the lowest practical level. The central tenet of its nuclear policy is for its capability to be maintained for the purpose of de-terrence against aggression.

Saran’s escalatory scenario seems to suggest that India’s Cold Start Doctrine, now known as “pro-active operations”, has been chal-lenged if not blunted by Pakistan’s TNW response. That is why this emerges as the main thrust of his remarks. In doing so he also reaf-firms the Indian intent to preserve the limited war option.

That Saran believes that India can or should consider a punitive war against its nuclear neighbour in retaliation for an act of terror carried out by a non-state actor is disconcerting enough. But he then warns that if Pakistan tried to de-ter an Indian conventional attack by its TNWs, India would retaliate with nuclear weapons. This fails to factor in Pakistan’s full spectrum capabilities to counter “massive retaliation” not to speak of its po-tent second-strike capability.

The rationale for Pakistan’s de-cision to pursue a TNW capability bears repetition to place Saran’s remarks in perspective. Pakistan perceived a number of rapid de-velopments in the past decade to adversely affect the region’s stra-tegic equilibrium established after the 1998 nuclear tests by both countries. They included the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and the NSG exemption under which India was assured of fuel supply by many countries. These significantly en-

hanced India’s ability to expand its strategic arsenal and altered Paki-stan’s security calculations.

Meanwhile, the new Indian mili-tary doctrine, which came on the back of these developments, be-came a gamechanger. The effort to find space for limited conven-tional engagement below the nu-clear threshold impelled Pakistan to seek a response at the tactical level in the nuclear domain. In try-ing to call Pakistan’s ‘nuclear bluff’ by operationalising proactive war-fighting strategies, these Indian moves urged Pakistan to develop TNWs to deter Cold Start and re-establish nuclear stability.

Against this backdrop what Sa-ran now seems to be signalling is that if Pakistan thinks it can deter limited conventional war by tacti-cal nuclear weapons, then India too can use strategic weapons in “massive retaliation”. This is dan-gerous talk in a situation where a delicate balance holds between the nuclear neighbours.

Nuclear powers do not define their relations by threats or bluster. The only answer to dilemmas cre-ated by the region’s nuclearisation is for both nations to engage seri-ously to build better understanding of each other’s nuclear policy, doc-trines and postures. This means advancing the nuclear dialogue to put in place credible confidence building measures in both the stra-tegic and conventional military spheres.

The two countries have a mutual interest in stabilising their nuclear relationship. The way forward is not by ill-thought nuclear signal-ing but in engaging substantively to narrow the perception gaps and address the issues that lie at the root of both countries’ security predicament.

Dr Maleeha Lodhi served as Pa-kistan’s ambassador to the US and United Kingdom

OPINION

GCC and Azerbaijan: First strategic step in the Caucasus

aBdel aZiZ alWUaisheG

I write this week from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, which has witnessed the first foray of the Gulf Cooperation Coun-cil Secretariat-General (GCC) in the Caucasus, when it signed an agreement with Azerbaijan to launch regular high-level consultations and dialogue on political, eco-

nomic and cultural issues.The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, on June

12, was preceded by meetings with Azeri senior officials, in-cluding President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku.

The GCC and Azerbaijan have much in common and they share many concerns. They are both major oil and gas produc-ers, enjoy significant surpluses that they try to invest at home and abroad, and are engaged in ambitious development pro-grams to improve the quality of life for their citizens.

Similar to the GCC, Azerbaijan also lives in a rough neigh-borhood. It is sandwiched between three powers: Iran in the south, Russia in the north, and Turkey in the west. Also to its west lies its small neighbor Armenia that 20 years ago carved out Nagorno-Karabakh, which constitutes about 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, and made it into a puppet state. The Iran-Russia rivalry, in particular, has shaped much of Azerbai-jan’s history over the past two centuries. The Treaty of Gu-listan in 1812 between Iran and Russia divided the historical territory of Azerbaijan into two parts: A southern part under Iranian control and a northern part under Russian control.

Azerbaijan’s independence from Russia took another 180 years to materialize, despite many attempts to break away from Russia’s tight grip. In 1918, Azerbaijanis took advantage of the collapse of the Russian empire, revolted and declared their Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. That independent state lasted only two years, as Moscow’s new Communist masters crushed the rebellion and re-annexed Azerbaijan. It was not until 1991, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union that Azerbaijan able to re-gain its independence. The southern part of Azerbaijan has not been as lucky. It has remained part of Iran, despite a brief period of independence during World War II, when it established, with Soviet help, the Azerbaijan People’s Government, with Tabriz as its capital. Its independ-ence was ended as part of the East-West understanding at the conclusion of the war. The West was keen to deny Russia a foothold in Iran and wanted instead to bolster its ally the Shah of Iran. The southern part of Azerbaijan under Iranian rule is more populous than the north; estimates run as high as thirty million Azeris in Iran, three times the population of the Republic of Azerbaijan. However, they are denied the use of their language and other expressions of their Azeri culture. Unity between north and south remains a far-away dream, but Azeris hope that Iran would at least relent in its denial of Azeri human rights, especially their right to cultural expression.

June 17-23, 20134


da rePortislaMaBad

High Com-missioner of Mau-r i t i u s ,

Muhammad Rashad Daureeawo held a dinner in honour of new and outgoing ambassadors here the other day.

The reception was attended by a large number of people, especially the diplo-matic community.

Mauritius HC hosts dinner for new, outgoing envoys

June 17-23, 2013 5


aBUBaKar siddiQUe islaMaBad

Ambassador of Austria Axel Wech inaugurated Austrian Food Festival that attracted people

who visited the event organised by Austrian Embassy in Islamabad.

The festival was attended by dip-lomats of different countries and people from different walks of life. After the inauguration ceremony, Ambassador of Austria Axel Wech spoke to a press conference and said that we understand the cul-tural values of Pakistan and Islam, so during the festival we will serve only halal (lawful) foods. We also intend to invite folk music perform-ers of Austria to Pakistan in order to promote cultural cooperation between the two countries. He said there is a lot of potential of coopera-tion between Pakistan and Austria

so we are working hard to enhance our cooperation in every field.

He said Pakistan is the fifth larg-est Austrian partner in Asia. He said although our cooperation is visible in big projects, yet Austria has good working relation with Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Ambassador Mr Martin Thellen said that service industry in Paki-stan can help overcome the coun-try’s problems.

Babar Jajummal, Honorary Coun-sel-designate in Karachi, congratu-

lated the Austrian Ambassador and his team on holding Austrian Food Festival, presenting delicious foods, in Pakistan. He said such events can help strengthen cultural relations between the two countries.

The festival was organised in col-

laboration with teachers and stu-dents of the High School of Tour-ism, HLT Retz - Lower Austria, headed by Mr Udo Vorwarlder, who gave presentation on the school activities and tourism in-dustry of Austria.

consolidating pak-austria relations

Week-long Austrian Food Festival attracts masses

June 17-23, 20136


FPCCI invites Thai entrepreneurs

BUreaU rePortKarachi

Pr e s i d e n t Fe d e r a t i o n of Pakistan C h a m b e r s

of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Zubair Ahmed Malik has invited a delegation of Thailand Federation of Industries, Thailand Federation of Commerce and Board of Trade to visit Pakistan for bilateral trade talks, said a statement.

Zubair Mailk called on vice chairman Thailand Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Chair-man Working Group on FTA during his visit to Thailand. He suggested establishing a Pak-Thailand joint business council to boost trade between the two countries.

Malik also held a separate meeting with Paki-stan’s ambassador Suhail Mahmood. Mailk asked his counterpart to convince his government to al-low on-arrival visas to Pakistani businessmen, as it did in the past. He asked the ambassador to take up this issue with the Thai government.

PTI proposes tax on goods under Af-Pak Transit Trade

aGencies PeshaWar

The Pak is tan Tehreek-e-In-saf (PTI) has recommended special tax on foreign goods and Pakistani products,

transported to Afghanistan under Pak-Afghan Transit Trade agreement.

Talking to a private news channel here the other day, the PTI leader Shaukat Yousufzai said the proposal was put forward in order to boost the income of the provincial government.

Yousufzai said tax would not only improve revenue of the provincial government but also help halting the smuggling.

Meanwhile, President Khyber Pa-khtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce Yousuf Sarwar has welcomed the proposal and said that this would improve condition of Peshawar-Torkham road besides economic con-dition of the province.

Singh urged to initiate dialogue with Pakistan

aGenciessrinaGar

In occupied Kashmir, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)) leader, Muhammad Yousuf Tari-gami has asked the Indian Prime

Minister, Manmohan Singh to take concrete steps for initiating a result-ori-ented dialogue with Pakistan and other stakeholders.

M Y Tarigami in a statement in Sri-nagar urged India and Pakistan to take bold initiatives and make serious efforts to turn a new leaf in their relations by addressing the protracted Kashmir is-sue.

“People of Kashmir are forced to bear the brunt of disruptions in Indo-Pak dialogue. Now time has come when New Delhi and Islamabad should make serious efforts to turn a new leaf in their relations. For this, the leadership has to exhibit will and capacity to move forward and revamp the stalled peace process.”

“I urge India and Pakistan to reverse the self-destructive path and take bold initiatives to address the vexed Kashmir issue,” he said.

“Rigidities must be replaced with flexibilities” and both leaderships and people of the two neighbouring coun-tries should realise the urgency of the commitment to address the Kashmir is-sue, he emphasised.

Addressing the issue is in the interest of both countries and to bring peace and prosperity in South Asia, he said, “It is ironic that the money which both coun-tries should have utilised for the welfare of the poor and the hungry, is being uti-lised to keep vigil on glaciers.

The two countries should end the path of confrontation and go for recon-ciliation to resolve all outstanding is-sues including Siachen, Sir Creek and Kashmir,” he said.

“I urge the prime minister to take concrete steps during his tenure to initi-ate a result oriented dialogue with Paki-stan and other stake holders,” Tarigami added.

thomson calls on interior minister

Pakistan, UK to strengthen counter-terror, trade ties

USAID funds Sindh ECE project

da rePort islaMaBad

The British government has expressed the resolve to further improve bilat-eral ties with Pakistan while work-ing together to increase trade be-

tween the two countries. British High Commissioner to Pakistan,

Adam Thomson called on Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and discussed matters of mutual interest. He conveyed that building on Pakistan’s traditional cooperation with the UK Government on trade and economic growth and education will be a high-priority for the British government.

The Interior Minister while conveying Paki-stan’s commitment towards furthering the bilat-eral relations with the British government said the government was working on prioritising

its interaction in different areas of cooperation, such as counter terrorism, immigration issues, organised crime and security. The Minister emphasised that he and his team would engage with the British working groups on a “time-bound schedule”.

Certain areas would have more preference over others and special task groups would be formed to resolve the gamut of bilateral issues.

The British High Commissioner pointed out that their government had high expectations from Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and the UK Government considers it a priority that de-mocracy flourishes in Pakistan. He viewed that with a clear majority in the Centre and the Prov-ince of Punjab, the new government is ensured of a sound start. The British government viewed Pakistan as a major player in the region.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan emphasised that PML-N government would like to build on the

60 years relationship with Britain to the mutual benefit of both the countries and to extend the cooperation beyond the current bilateral issues of terrorism, drugs, immigration and money laundering to a broader spectrum. He said the cooperation should also extend on day-to-day civic issues, which shall be short-listed by him and a request shall be made for, institutional support. The Minister also conveyed that in keeping with the help extended by the British government in Punjab on forensics expertise and laboratories he would make a similar re-quest for helping out the federal government. The Minister also expressed his desire to make Islamabad a model city and then replicating the model in other provincial capitals.

The Minister in the end expressed his resolve to work on a fast track basis with the British government and to follow up on issues with senior level engagement. pr

da rePortislaMaBad

A project of early childhood education (ECE) is being pro-moted in Sindh through the financial cooperation of US-

AID. This was stated by Chief Executive

Officer (CEO) DevCon (Local NGO), Ni-sar Memon while talking to media here the other day. He said that the project of Early Childhood Education (ECE) have been launched in 15 government and 15 private schools of District Badin, Sindh.

Besides, the twenty seven months pro-ject’s interventions cover the installation of Hand pumps for safe drinking water facility, rehabilitation and construction of washrooms, he said. He said that six learning corners in each ECE centers along with play area and ECE resource center have been established at school level and at district level respectively.

Speaking on the occasion, Product Manager DevCon, Muhammad Aslam Khatti sad that project will include the soft core components including acti-vating SMCs, mother groups’ forma-tion and their capacity building. On the

other hand the 60 teachers of those 30 schools will undergo a comprehensive ECE training, he said. Such prominent interventions will not only enhance the institutional strength but will also help to promote ECE in accessible private and public institutions, Khatti said.

The importance of education is not only limited to students but also for those who impart knowledge and that is why the United States aims to strengthen the education roots in Pa-kistan by investing in higher education and teacher’s training programmes. Mu-hammad Tariq Khan, the senior educa-tion advisor of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), shared these views while talking to re-porters earlier.

He was attending a ceremony where 200 students, who have enrolled into two-year associate degree (ADE) and four-year Bachelors programme in edu-cation (BEd Hons) at public colleges and universities in Sindh, were awarded Rs20,000 each in the form of scholar-ships. The programmes were a part of USAID’s Teachers Education Project to bring reforms for long-term sustainabil-ity in Pakistan’s education sector.

June 17-23, 2013 7


‘China, Pakistan enjoy close friendly ties’

aGencies Karachi

Deputy Consul General of China in Karachi, Pan Qingjiang, has spoken of very close and cordial ties between China and Pakistan which is growing fur-ther with the passage of time.

He was performing the inauguration of a la carte menu at a local posh hotel’s Taipan Chinese Restaurant, says a statement here. He was of the view that the love of Pakistanis for the Chi-nese food also reflect these relations. He also spoke of the deep understanding and respect that has developed between the peo-ple of the two countries. The Deputy Consul General also appre-ciated the hotel management for introducing the Chinese cuisine to the Pakistani people.

Ban ki-Moon expresses well wishes for Nawazda rePortislaMaBad

Welcoming Pakistan’s first ever transition from one civilian government to another, UN Sec-retary-General Ban Ki-Moon, in his congrat-ulatory message to Prime Minister Nawaz

Sharif, expressed his confidence that under his leadership, Pakistan would build on its democratic achievements.

This has been the strongest message of support that Sha-rif has received these past few days from the world over, in which the UN chief lays great emphasis on Pakistan’s contri-bution towards Afghanistan.

According to the office of Pakistan’s Permanent Repre-sentative’s statement, Moon said: “I look forward to working closely with your Government to find a better and more effec-tive ways to meet some of the more pressing challenges facing the international community at this moment.”

Welcoming Pakistan’s support for regional cooperation, the secretary general said he was looking forward to work-ing with the prime minister and welcomes Pakistan’s support

for regional cooperation, particularly as it contributes to sup-porting stability and reconciliation in Afghanistan.

The UN chief made a special mention of the fact that he was confident that Sharif would ensure women’s empower-ment, advancement of human rights, and progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the eight targets agreed to by the world leaders in 2000 to improve people’s lives around the world.

“By exercising their constitutional right to vote, the people of Pakistan have reaffirmed their desire for and commitment to a democratic Pakistan and their respect for the constitu-tion. This is a significant step forward for democracy in the country,” wrote the Secretary General.

He also praised Pakistan’s “active and constructive” role in the United Nations, especially its contribution to the peace-keeping operations.“The status of Pakistan as one of the larg-est troop contributors to peacekeeping operations and its membership in the Security Council are testament to this,” he said.

“I am certain that, under your leadership, the partnership that has been built over the years between Pakistan and the

United Nations will continue to grow as we strive to fulfill the expectation of Mem-ber States and their citizens for peace, progress and prosperity.”

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal, Tahir Rafiq Butt, meeting with Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif at Prime Minister's Office. DA

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in a meeting with Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne in a meeting with Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif at PM Office. DA

Kerry to visit Pakistan, India this month

da rePortislaMaBad

US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Paki-stan and India this month for the first time since taking office, officials in Delhi and Islamabad said the other day.

A senior Indian government official said Kerry would be in New Delhi on June 23 and 24, adding that Afghanistan would be one of the main topics up for discussion. “They (the Ameri-cans) have repeatedly said that they welcome India’s role in Afghanistan... They would like to see it go forward,” said the official on the condition of anonymity. “We would like to get from the secretary a better idea of what the American plans are,” the official added.

Kerry’s scheduled visit to Pakistan is the most senior for-eign trip to be announced since Nawaz Sharif was sworn in as Pakistani prime minister. “US Secretary of State Mr John Kerry will be visiting Pakistan in the last week of June,” Pa-

kistani foreign ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry told a weekly

press briefing in Islamabad. He said the specific dates

of Kerry’s visit would be announced once they had been finalised. US officials previously said Kerry would visit once the new government was in place.

June 17-23, 20138


BUreaU rePortPeshaWar

The United Arab Emirate has pledged to provide fi-nancial support to polio eradication efforts in Khy-

ber Pa-k h -

tunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas for the next three years, according to offi-cials.

“We have sent plan for 2013-15 to the UAE government regarding polio immunisation in Khyber Pa-khtunkhwa and Fata. The UAE will start financing the campaigns from July,” they said.

Presently, the polio vaccination pro-gramme in Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata is being run through $330 million loan secured by the government from Islamic Devel-

opment Bank (IDB).The officials said that IDB

was approached last year by the government after refusals by the international donors to provide funds to the programme.

The UAE had already contributed $120 mil-lion to $5.5 billion to the five-year (2013-18) global polio eradication

plan, to eliminate the vaccine-pre-ventable childhood ailment by the 2015, officials said.

According to conservative esti-mates, the global plan seeks to eradi-cate polio by 2014 from Pakistan and by 2015 from Afghanistan and Nige-ria, the other two endemic countries.

The UAE government has agreed to sponsor the Khyber Pakhtunkh-wa and Fata polio eradication pro-grammes from the amount, it has already donated to the global plan.

The officials said that Khyber Pa-khtunkhwa and Fata would stop us-ing IDB’s loan next month, when it would start getting exclusive funding from the UAE.

They said that Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded nine cases -- the former having five and the lat-ter four, out of the total 13 registered cases nationwide in 2013 so far.

Last year, both accounted by 47 cases of the total 58 in Pakistan and had been under the focus of interna-tional donors. Fata has a total of 1.1 million under-five population but

authorities are required to adminis-ter anti-polio drops to about 800,000 because the remaining children live in North and South Waziristan agen-cies where Taliban have banned vac-cination.

Officials said that Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation, the main donor of the $5.5 billion global polio eradi-cation plan, had sought support of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan in polio eradication ef-forts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where his party was in power.

According to them, US Microsoft giant Bill Gates had requested Imran Khan in a letter to further polio eradi-cation in the province and safeguard children against disabilities.

Bill Gates commitment to polio eradication resulted in his support for a massive anti-polio programme in Pakistan, Imran Khan tweeted.

“The PTI is already committed to eliminating life threatening dis-eases from Pakistan through health education and immunisation pro-grammes,” he said.

UaE to finance anti-polio efforts in Kp, tribal areas

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Korea Choong Joo Choi in a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr. DA

President for expanding Pak-Korea economic ties

da rePortislaMaBad

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Mr Choong Joo Choi called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-

e-Sadr the other day.Ms Aseefa Bhutto Zardari was also

present during the meeting. Discussing Pak-Korea bilateral

relations, the President said that Pa-kistan values its cordial and friendly relations with Korea and desires to further cement its bilateral ties es-pecially in the trade and economic sphere. The President appreciated the diplomatic services of Mr Choi in brin-ing Pakistan and Korea further closer during his stint as Ambassador. The president wished the outgoing ambas-sador good luck in his future life and assignments.

Ambassador Choi Choong-joo thanked the president and the Gov-ernment of Pakistan for the support he was extended during his tenure as ambassador.

‘US‚ Pakistan can expand trade ties’

Monitors rePortVirGinia

The United States-based Pa-kistan-American Business Association Chief Siddique

Sheikh has said the United States and Pakistan have the potential to increase their trade. Speaking in Vir-ginia‚ he backed the new Pakistani government’s move for economic diplomacy. He said there is a need to devise a goal-oriented roadmap to bolster Pakistan’s market access to the United States. He said‚ incentives should be given to American inves-tors in the fields of power generation and oil and gas exploration.

June 17-23, 2013 9


Film shows US envoy’s leisuresPecial rePort

islaMaBad

A public relations video has been a centre of at-tention for many, as it shows US Ambassador

to Pakistan, Richard Olson, enjoy-ing a Sunday about town.

The move is a good way indeed to dispel conspiracy theories and improve relations between Ameri-can diplomats and the Pakistani public. The film shows Richard Olson scooping up chickpea curry with a paratha flatbread for break-

fast, before buying watermelon at a roadside stall — surrounded by armed guards — and browsing a book shop.

Talking about the video in a stat-ment, the US embassy said “There are lots of people who ... ask what the ambassador does in his free time and what he likes about Paki-stan.”

In the video, which is accompa-nied by jangly Pakistani music, Mr Olson’s brief commentary appears in the form of speech bubbles. “De-licious,” is his verdict on the water-melon.

Pak first female fighter pilotsPecial rePort

islaMaBad

With an olive green head scarf poking out from her hel-met, Ayesha Fa-

rooq flashes a cheeky grin when asked if it is lonely being the only war-ready female fighter pilot in Pakistan.

Farooq, hailing from Bahawal-pur, is one of 19 women who have become pilots in the Pakistan Air Force over the last decade – there are five other female fighter pilots, but they have yet to take the final tests to qualify for combat.

“I don’t feel any different. We do the same activities, the same pre-cision bombing,” the soft-spoken 26-year-old said of her male col-leagues at Mushaf base in Sargod-ha, where neatly piled missiles sit.

A growing number of women have joined Pakistan’s defence forces in recent years as attitudes towards women change.

“Because of terrorism and our geographical location it’s very im-portant that we stay on our toes,”

said Farooq, referring to Taliban militancy and a sharp rise in sec-tarian violence.

Deteriorating security in neigh-bouring Afghanistan, where US-led troops are preparing to leave by the end of next year, and an uneasy relationship with arch ri-val India to the east add to the mix.

Farooq, whose slim frame offers a study in contrast with her burly male colleagues, was at logger-heads with her widowed and un-educated mother seven years ago when she said she wanted to join

the air force.“In our society most girls don’t

even think about doing such things as flying an aircraft,” she said.

Family pressure against the traditionally male domain of the armed forces dissuaded other women from taking the next step to become combat ready, air force officials said. They fly slower air-craft instead, ferrying troops and equipment around the country.

“Less of a taboo”Centuries-old rule in the tribal

belt area along the border with

Afghanistan, where rape, mutila-tion and the killing of women are ordered to mete out justice, under-lines Pakistan’s failures in protect-ing women’s rights.

But women are becoming more aware of those rights and signing up with the air force is about as empowering as it gets.

“More and more ladies are join-ing now,” said Nasim Abbas, Wing Commander of Squadron 20, made up of 25 pilots, including Farooq, who fly Chinese-made F-7PG fight-er jets.

“It’s seen as less of a taboo. There’s been a shift in the nation’s, the society’s, way of thinking,” Abbas told Reuters on the base in Sargodha.

There are now about 4,000 women in Pakistan’s armed forces, largely confined to desk jobs and medical work.

But over the last decade, women have became sky marshals, de-fending Pakistan’s commercial lin-ers against insurgent attacks, and a select few are serving in the elite anti-terrorist force.

June 17-23, 201310


IIUI 54th Shariah course for judges, law officers concludesda rePortislaMaBad

The concluding cer-emony of the 54th Sha-riah course took place at Shriah Academy Faisal

Masjid campus of International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI).

Director General Shriah Acad-emy Dr Tahir Mansoori was the chief guest of the ceremony. Dur-ing the sixteen week course the participants availed the golden opportunity to visit different countries including Egypt, turkey and some of the Middle Eastern

countries, where they also visited their law and justice institutions, and studied their contemporary judicial system. During the for-eign visit Participants also got an opportunity to interact with law experts of that specific country. They analyzed and compared that judicial and justice system with Pakistani and Islamic judicial and justice system and its practices in Pakistan. At the end of the foreign visit participants of the course also performed Ummra. Participants were also awarded certificates on the successfully completion of their course. The course lasted for sixteen weeks.

University to observe strict rule & regulation, Dr Al-Draiweesh

Restoration of IIUI VC hailed

islaMaBad

University administration and heads of academics department must man-age to solve out every

kind of students’ problem on prior bases but there would be no com-promise on the observance of rules and regulations in the university premises.

These views were expressed by the Presidents IIUI Pro Dr. Ahmed Yousif Al-Draiweesh while speak-

ing to 5th steering committee of the university. On the occasion, in addition to vice president Prof Dr Sajid ur Rehman heads of academic departments and administration were also present. Dr Al-Draiweesh said that the dynamic socialization process required, along with the formal education in university. He said that there is a need to construct social and moral attitude of the students an idealist on the bases of Islamic values. Dr Al-Draiweesh in-structed to departmental heads that

they may give priority to solve out the problems of students, so they may not feel any inconvenience. He expressed his views that the university needs an environment of brotherhood and close interac-tion between students and teachers. He wished that the faculty member arrange a secession in which they exchange of views with students.

President cleared the point that, miscreants would not be allowed in university and dealt with strictness. Committee discussed the agenda of proposed seminars, workshops and conferences including, seminar on IIUI today & future vision, Donor conference of the Department of Education, IIUI9th Convocation, International conference on evalu-

ation of family issues in the list of Shariah & Law, 5th International Applied Business Research Con-ference. The committee agreed on the point that keeping the tradition alive, it stressed on the need to ar-range more seminars, workshops and special lectures for the social, moral and mental betterment of the students. NEWS RELEASE

islaMaBad

Vice President Interna-tional Islamic Universi-ty (IIU), Prof Sahibzada Sajid-ur-Rehman has

joined his office after his restora-tion as Vice President, granted by Islamabad High Court (IHC) on an intra court appeal. IHC suspended the order of a judge declaring the appointment of Sahibzada Sajid-ur-Rehman illegal. Vice President

IIUI, on his arrival, was warmly welcomed by a large number of officers, Deans of Faculties and other university employees.

Bouquets were presented to Sahibzada Sajid ur-Rehman by the IIUI employees of male and female campuses of the university, immense joy and excitement was witnessed on the occasion. Later, addressing to the university em-ployees Sahibazada Sajid-ur-Re-hman thanked all for his remark-

able welcome after his restoration. He stressed on the employees to devote their selves for the better-ment of IIUI and advised them to refrain from personal differences and biasness. “I dedicated 40 years of my life to IIUI, I never took a sin-gle decision based on favouritism or personal interest and in future same would continue” VP IIU said. He said he would not take any ac-tion of revenge against those who propagated against him.

He added that IIUI staff would have to develop a milieu of broth-erhood and unity for the progress of the institution. He termed the protection of the ordinance of uni-versity as strength of it while say-ing that it was prime obligation of everybody to maintain and protect the integrity and prestige of the IIU ordinance.

On the occasion, he also lauded the role of Rector IIUI, Dr Ma-zoom Yasinzai and President IIU,

Dr Ahmed Yousif Al-Draiweesh for the progress and betterment of the university. He said IIU was fortunate that it found two high profile and multi-talented per-sonalities who head this institu-tion. He hoped that IIU would achieve its goals within minimum time under the leadership of Dr Al-Draiweesh. He also assured of every possible support to IIU President in this regard. NEWS RELEASE

June 17-23, 2013 11


da rePortislaMaBad

The Federal Minister for Na-tional Food Security & Re-search (NFSR) Mr. Sikandar Hayat Bosan while presid-

ing over a meeting of USDA delega-tion headed by Richard T. Drennan & Asmat Raza with Mr. Tamoor Azmat, Secretary (MNSFS) and Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad, Chairman PARC and other senior officers at Ministry has said that the present Government gives special emphasis for promotion and development agriculture sector in Pakistan to boost up production to achieve self-sufficiency in food secu-

rity as well as for economic develop-ment.

He appreciated the role of USAID/USDA and other donor agencies such as CIMMYT, ICARDA, ARS), FAO, etc. for support in different areas of agri-culture through launching of various programmmes such as Pakistan Agri-cultural Innovation Programme (AIP) with US$ 30 Million, Wheat Produc-tivity Enhancement Programme (W-PEP) – a US, Pakistan and CG Centres Partnership focused on mitigating the Threat of Ug99 causing wheat diseases stem rusts with US $ 8.19 Million, Ag-ricutlural Linkages Programme (ALP) and Waterhsed Rehabilitation & Im-provement: Demonstration in Pakistan

and Dissemination the Basic Technolo-gies to help rural farmers. These initia-tives will surely increase crop produc-tivity and production value of livestock, horticultural and cereal crops, thus in-creasing income for Pakistani farmers.

He said that the Ministry acknowl-edged the role of said international agencies in Pakistan and fully commit-ted to extend all possible cooperation to all international agriculture devel-opment agencies for their support for the development of agriculture sector of Pakistan especially self-sufficiency in wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane crops and livestock to improve economy as well as living standard of country’ small farmers.

minister lauds USaiD, USDa for coop in agri sector

meeting with minister

USAID assures support for power sectorda rePortislaMaBad

A four-member delegation of USAID led by Jonathan M Conly called on Federal Minister for Water and

Power, Khawaja Muhammad Asif here the other day and discussed various matters of mutual coopera-tion in power sector and technical assistance initiatives for power pro-jects.

The minister while welcoming the delegation appreciated US coopera-tion and assistance being extended to the power sector and said that it would help to improve the efficiency of the public sector power entities. The minister observed that con-struction of dams, run of river hydel projects and coal energy genera-tion projects are solution to energy

crisis on sustainable basis .He said it was priority of the government to reduce load shedding on priority and increase in the generation. The government has planned to change the energy mix and to convert the existing thermal power plants on imported coal. Run of river projects have also been identified. He said

that reduction in line losses and eradication of power theft are also the major targets. The Discos would be given autonomy and reforms pro-cess would be continue. Mr. Asif said that the circular debt issue would alos be resolved on permanent basis. He also agreed the proposal to make one Disco as Model Disco.

Mr Jonathan Conley, USAID Country Head said that United States and Pakistan together are carrying out large-scale energy projects. These projects include renovating the power plant at the Tarbela Dam: modernizing the generators of the Mangla Dam: up-grading the Guddu, Jamshoro and

Muzafargarh power plants and con-struction of Gomal Zam Dam and Satpara dam, Kurram Tangi and Diamer Basha dam projects.. He in-formed that 1700 capacitors and 130 energy pumps and 4900 meters for advanced metering system for real time data have been installed. The reforms are focused both on reduc-ing technical losses on the power grid and on increasing receivables. A five year USAID funded pro-gramme of 853 million dollars is al-ready under progress which aims to improve the performance of Discos in terms of reduction in losses and improvement in revenues and cus-tomer services to bring them at par with best global practices, he main-tained. He said that US is commit-ted to work with the Government of Pakistan towards a brighter future for the people of Pakistan.

da rePortislaMaBad

U.S. Embassy Chargé d’affaires’ Ambassador Richard Hoagland congrat-ulated students and faculty

of COMSATS Institute of Information Technology on the formation of the COMSATS Association of American Graduates, an association of more than

60 faculty members who have received PhDs in the United States through partnerships with U.S. universities in North Dakota and Illinois.

COMSATS formed the Association to provide opportunities for these alumni to network and compare experiences.

At the inaugural event hosted by COMSATS Rector Dr. Syed Muham-mad Junaid Zaid, Ambassador Ho-agland congratulated participants:

Academic ties between the United States and Pakistan are critical to en-suring mutual understanding. They also play a key role in supporting Pa-kistan’s economic and social develop-ment.

I congratulate COMSATS both on its successful efforts to build productive linkages with U.S. universities and con-tinued engagement with this alumni association.

British MP says rule of law vital to fetch foreign investments

da rePort islaMaBad

The Pakistani origin first elected Muslim Member of British Parliament from Glasgow Muhammad Sarwar visited Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry and addressing the business community said that

Overseas Pakistanis have deep love & affection for Pakistan.They are very much interested to invest in Pakistan, but fac-

tors like security problems, corruption, lack of rule of law and bureaucratic approach were keeping them away.

He said Overseas Pakistanis have huge investment potential and can bring billions of dollars into their country of origin, so much so that Pakistan will have no need of any foreign invest-ment. But for this to happen, establishing rule of law, fair legal system, good governance etc. were the key requirements.

He said government should prepare feasibility studies of pro-jects and share such studies with Overseas Pakistanis so that they could explore investment opportunities in their country. He said Pakistan Embassies in foreign countries should have full in-formation and database about trade, commerce & export poten-tial for Pakistani products in their host countries and they should facilitate Pakistani entrepreneurs to tap such opportunities for promoting Pakistan’s trade and exports.

Mr. Muhammad Sarwar said it is not the job of government to run commercial organizations and advised that government should privatize loss making public sector enterprises. For this purpose, government should make a consortium to evaluate the potential of local and overseas Pakistani investors to purchase PSEs.

In his welcome address, Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islama-bad Chamber of Commerce & Industry appreciated the services of Muhammad Sarwar for Pakistan and Pakistani community. He said people like Muhammad Sarwar have rich experience as he has served as public representative in a developed democ-racy. Therefore, Pakistan should benefit from such experienced people. Tahir Iqbal Ch. Member National Assembly from Vehari also lauded the services of Muhammad Sarwar and said that he rendered valuable contribution for the welfare of people during earthquake and floods in Pakistan. Association of American graduates formed

Rodolfo Martin Saravia hosts reception for FSA under-training diplomats

aBUBaKar siddiQUeislaMaBad

wThe Dean of Diplomatic Corps and Ambassador of the Argentine Re-public, Rodolfo Martin

Saravia held a reception in honour of foreign diplomats participating in the study and training course of the

Foreign Service Academy (FSA). Pakistan’s former ambassador

to China and Saudi Arabia Khalid Mahmud was the chief guest in the reception. The reception was at-tended by Foreign Service Academy Director General Khalid Usman Qaisar, ambassadors of different countries including Nigeria, Tuni-sia and Azerbaijan. The diplomats,

belonging to several countries, who are attaining the training in the academy attended the reception.

Music arranged on the occasion enthralled the audience as the event was held in a very pleasant weather in the capital. The attendants en-joyed themselves in the function, as the pleasant weather was cou-pled with beautiful performances.

A Lok singer Erum enthralled the guests by singing regional songs of Pakistan.

The diplomats talked high of standard of the training and educa-tion imparted to them by Pakistani scholars and senior diplomats. They were of the view that Paki-stan’s diplomats are second to none in displaying their skill and it would

be the best of the experience of their life to seek knowledge from such high quality people who are masters of their own field.

The under-training diplomats referred to general election in their host country and said that people of Pakistan have proved that they are intelligent and sensible enough to deal with their national issues.

June 17-23, 201312


Expert sees pak-Saudi bilateral cooperation heightening n Amir-ur-Rehman says Saudi envoy working hard to expand ties n Urges govt to address miseries of overseas Pakistanis

aBUBaKar siddiQUe islaMaBad

The depth of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia brother-hood and cordial rela-tions is evident from the

cooperation in every field of life between the two countries.

The two countries are very close to each other. Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan Dr Abdul Aziz Al-Ghadeer is playing a very im-portant role to further consolidate Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations, as he is very active to expand the bilateral cooperation in various fields.

This was stated by Raja Amir-ur-Rehman, Chief Executive of Al-Waqas Enterprises (Overseas Employment Promoters) and for-mer Chairman of Pakistan Over-sees Employment Promoters Asso-ciation (POEPA) and an expert on overseas Pakistanis employment matters, in exclusive interview with Diplomatic Affairs. He said the ambassador knows the importance of relations between the two coun-tries and he is working very hard to bring them closer.

He said Saudi Arabia and Paki-stan are brotherly countries and the bilateral relations are getting strengthened day by day. He said the Saudi government has always been kind to Pakistan, adding its recent move to ask illegal immi-grants to legalise their stay is in fa-vour of illegal Pakistani manpower living and working in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He said the Saudi government has the right to enact and amend its laws as any other country. He said the issue of il-legal workers negated rumours that thousands of Pakistanis were imprisoned, or asked to leave the kingdom. He said there was no ve-racity and truthfulness in all the news, adding that expatri-ates were however under tremendous strain fol-lowing reports of in-

spections by ministries on private establishments.

Amir-ur-Rehman said it was a very laudable decision by King Ab-dullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, who issued directives to the ministries of interior and labour to give a three-month grace period to workers violating the labour and residency (iqama) regulations, to rectify their status. “This will help the people work with more comfort in the kingdom”. Raja sahib said people who went to Saudi Arabia independently, spending a lot of money, used to face difficulties in finding suitable jobs and setting up their businesses in the past not being aligned to any institutions they were often indelible for basic human services. He added that af-ter the implementation of the new regulations they will work in the kingdom with out fear. He said, “I can assure you that rumours had violated in this matter. If there was any problem, it had some link to the failure of the previous Pakistani governments’ policies.” He said the grace period of three months awarded by the Saudi King was a while gesture and the bonafide expatriates living in Saudi Arabia warmly welcomed it. He said majority of ex-patriates have benefited from the grace period and they recti-fied their status. He said the im-plementation of the new regula-tions will h e l p

businessmen and other people who want to get settled in the kingdom. He said the new law must be enforced, as it will pro-tect all employees irrespective of their nationalities.

Amir-ur-Rehman said the new government in Pakistan must focus on relations with Saudi Arabia, adding that a huge number of Pakistanis are working in the kingdom and remitting capital to the country. He said Pakistan and Saudi Ara-bia are brotherly countries and the bilateral relations are based on common religion and cul-ture. He said Pakistani people respect very much Saudi Arabia and its people, as their religious sentiments are associated to the kingdom. He said the relations between the two countries will get further strengthened with the passage of time.

Talking about the elections and formation of new govern-ment in Pakistan, he said he hoped the development will thrive businesses in the coun-try. “The relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will surely go to new heights in Nawaz Sharif government. Cooperation between the two

countries will get extended. Businesses will hopefully,

get developed.” He urged the new government to pay heed to the problems of overseas Pakistanis

and remove their woes, as they and

their re-m i t -

June 17-23, 2013 13


“The new government in Pakistan must

focus on relations with Saudi Arabia. A

huge number of Pakistanis are working

in the kingdom and remitting capital to

the country. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia

are brotherly countries and the bilateral

relations are based on common religion

and culture. Pakistani people respect very

much Saudi Arabia and its people, as their

religious sentiments are associated to the

kingdom. The relations between the two

countries will get further strengthened with

the passage of time.”

June 17-23, 201314


mpBS calls for focus on non-traditional items to pak-malaysia trade

Cohen urges US-Pak civilian N-deal

da rePortislaMaBad

Ma l a y s i a - P a k i s t a n Business Council (MPBC) has called for a greater focus on

non-traditional items for enhancing and diversifying bilateral trade be-tween Pakistan and Malaysia.

MPBC Chairman Datuk Salim Fateh Din said, “the trade balance is currently unfavourable to Paki-stan and it is high time the Paki-stani businessmen to come up with innovative ideas and focused on non-traditional items to broaden the scope of trade between the two countries”.

At the residence of Pakistan High Commissioner to Malaysia Shahid M G Kiani to honour Datuk Salim Fateh Din following conferral upon

him of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) by the President of Pakistan he said the MPBC was ag-gressively exploring niche areas for joint investments and sectors such as education, power, energy, water, infrastructure, property develop-ment, telecommunication, retail

and rail transportation were ideal for forging joint ventures.

Another huge potential area for joint investment is the global halal market which is worth half a tril-lion US dollars and offers massive opportunities for both Pakistan and Malaysia to leverage their resources

optimally to tap into the market, he said.

Datuk Salim believed more bi-lateral trade in the halal products could also help in enhancing and networking businessmen and en-trepreneurs from both countries.

We would also set up a Malaysia-

Pakistan Halal Corporation to pro-mote and sell halal products all over the world, he said.

Shahid Kiani hailed Datuk Salim Fateh Din’s services in boosting bilateral trade and strengthening business networking and match-making between potential investors and traders from both countries.

He said the growing bilateral trade between Pakistan and Ma-laysia was also an indicator of ‘the strength of their political ties, eco-nomic and trade volume and the rapport between the leadership of the two countries’.

Kiani lauded Datuk Salim Fateh Din for his untiring efforts, which led to the establishment of PMBC in September 2011 to provide an ideal platform to introduce and market agri products from Pakistan into the Malaysian market.

Monitors rePortWashinGton

Stephen Cohen, an eminent American expert on South Asia, has asked Washington to formally recognise Paki-

stan’s nuclear status through civil-ian cooperation.

He underlined in his latest book the vital importance that normalisa-tion of Pakistan-India relations holds out for US interests in the region. “The United States has a strong in-terest in the normalisation of India-Pakistan relations that goes far be-yond normal “good” ties to each of

them. Their normalisation is more important than Afghanistan’s stabili-sation or building India up as a bar-rier to an expanding China,” Cohen advocates, while proposing a new US approach to South Asian peace pros-pects. He underlines the tremendous economic regional benefits as well as formation of a strong democratic re-gion if Pakistan and India make pro-gress towards normalisation.

In his just-published book,”Shooting for a Century:The In-dia-Pakistan onundrum,” Dr. Cohen looks into some causes and implica-tions of outstanding issues between the two South Asian countries, par-

ticularly the longstanding Kashmir dispute.

Cohen observes in the book that ironically, the one fear that steered US policy after the end of the cold war’nuclear proliferation’ turns out to have important implications for India-Pakistan normalisation and “suggests further modification” in American policy.

The United States, he stated should encourage the two neigh-bouring states to take advantage of the reality of deterrence and work toward a stable nuclear regime, while maintaining the tightest con-trol over the use of the weapons.

“Washington went part way down this road when it entered into a civil-ian nuclear deal with India that le-gitimised New Delhi’s nuclear status; it should find a formula that does the same for Pakistan, with the caveat that being a full member of the nu-clear club means that Pakistan’ and India’ must assume the obligations set forth for nuclear weapons states under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).”

Dr Cohen has previously authored books including “The Idea of Paki-stan” and “The Future of Pakistan.”

While pushing for normalisation of Pakistan-India relations in the

new book, the expert notes that some in India might greet a new American initiative with skepticism, but the recently completed American policy document on India actually encour-ages regional cooperation, and a carefully crafted US initiative might be more welcome in New Delhi than previous efforts. Doubts will exist on the Pakistan side, but America has stuck by Pakistan and its interest, like that of India’s, is to see a stable democratic Pakistan emerge over the next decade., he said. “Part of the new approach would be to confirm Pakistan’s identity as a South Asian state,” Cohen writes.

Bokhari sees cooperation with Mauritius increasing

da rePortislaMaBad

Chairman Senate Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari said the other day that Pakistan was

desirous and keen to have good relations with all countries of the world on basis of equality.

He said that bilateral coop-eration between Pakistan and Mauritius will be promoted. He

expressed these views while talking to High Commissioner of Mauritius Mohammad Rashad Daureeawo who called on Senate chairman in his chamber here.

Bokhari stated that exchange of parliamentary delegations between the two countries will boost bilateral relations. He said that sugarcane being the ma-jor produce of Mauritius, Paki-stan can help it in establishing sugar industry there.Besides

that, Pakistan can also export mangoes,oranges and fine qual-ity rice too. He said that there are vast opportunities for bilateral trade. The Mauritius envoy said that peaceful transition of power is very important for democracy and a good message has gone out to the world from Pakistan in this regard. He emphasized that Pakistan-Mauritius relations will be further promoted and bilateral trade will be enhanced.

USAID active to curb unscheduled power loadshedding

da rePortislaMaBad

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Power Distribution Programme has successfully implemented its ‘Load Data Improvement (LDI) Programme’ in DISCOs, which aims to minimise unscheduled loadshedding.

Currently Pakistan is in a serious power crisis, which is gravely affect-ing its economy and having a detrimental impact on various segments of society. With each passing day, the country is plunging deeper and deeper into the crisis-already the electricity shortfall has hit record levels. This situation has resulted in the citizens of Pakistan bearing the burden of heavy daily load shedding of 12 to 16 hours, with the expectation that it might increase in the future.

Malaysian real estate tycoon honouredMonitors rePort

KUala lUMPUr

Pakistan’s High Commission in Kuala Lumpur honoured Malay-sian real estate magnate Datuk Salim Fateh Din for his services to increase bilateral trade and investment between Pakistan and Malaysia.

The event was held at the residence of Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Shahid M G Kiani. The high commissioner hailed Din’s role as the head of the Malaysia-Pakistan Business Council in boosting bilateral trade and strengthening business networking between potential investors and traders from both the countries.

June 17-23, 2013 15


KSE holds ‘Pakistan Investment Conference’ in New York

BUreaU rePort Karachi

The Karachi Stock Ex-change in partnership with Bloomberg LP, the leading global financial

news and data provider, and in coordination with JS Global organ-ised a ‘Pakistan Investment Con-ference’ in New York.

A statement of the KSE said this conference brought together the top management of Pakistan’s most successful listed companies and several international financial institutions and potential investors from across the United States, in-cluding many well-known mutual funds invested in Emerging and Frontier markets.

This conference played an im-portant role in generating aware-ness amongst the US investment community regarding investment opportunities in Pakistan’s capital market and also in creating a posi-tive perception about Pakistan and its long term growth potential as a major emerging market with a large and vibrant domestic demand base. Given the interest shown in the conference proceedings by participants it is expected that the stock market of Pakistan should get a favorable and enthusiastic

response from US institutional in-vestors.

Addressing the conference, KSE Chairman Muneer Kamal high-lighted the strong performance of the Pakistan stock market de-spite challenging global financial environment. The enthusiasm of international investors for Paki-stan equities was a clear sign that confidence has been restored in the country’s capital market. No wonder, Pakistan market’s per-formance has been one of the best not only in Asia but also within the emerging and frontier markets universe in the last 12 months, with the 100-share index rising by over 65 per cent during this period.

Kamal highlighted the important milestone in Pakistan’s political history where, for the first time, there was change from one civil-ian government to another civilian government through the election process. He said that the strong mandate of the new Pakistan Mus-lim League-Nawaz (PML-N) gov-ernment meant policy implemen-tations would likely be decisive and help stabilise the economy with ac-tion on key areas such as the power sector, taxation, privatisation and improved governance. Further-more, with all political players in Pakistan on the same page regard-

ing improvement of relations with India, a new era of regional coop-eration and surge in intra-regional trade was on the anvil, which bode well for peace and economic devel-opment of South Asia, providing opportunity for global investors to participate in this growth.

State Bank of Pakistan’s Moni-tory Policy Director Hamza also participated in the conference.

Other capital market institution present at the conference was the Central Depository Company of Pakistan, represented by its Chief Executive Hanif Jhakura.

In the second session of the con-ference key Pakistani companies in major economic sectors ranging from banks, chemicals, cement, oil and gas, power, telecoms and textiles highlighted their achieve-ments and outlook for the future, which was greatly appreciated by the investor community in New York.

Representative of the following companies also participated In the conference: MCB Bank, OGDC, Ni-shat, Mills, Nishat Chunian, Nishat Chunian Power, Kot Addu Power, Fatima Fertilizer, PTCL, Bank Al Falah, FFBL, DG Khan Cement, Lucky Cement, Attock Petroleum, Attock Refinery and Pakistan Oil-fields.

Import of power from India discussed

da rePortislaMaBad

A five-member Indian delegation met Khawaja Asif Min-ister for Water and Power and discussed the proposals for electricity trade and HVDC link establishment to transfer 500 megawatts (MW).

Indo-Pak experts on trade of electricity were also present on the occasion. Indian experts group headed by Joint Sec-retary (transmission), Ministry of Power India was of the view the lines would emanate from grid station in India to grid station in Pa-kistan. Detailed dis-cussions with National Transmission Data Com-pany Limited (NTDCL) were held in Lahore the other day.

PRCS steps up preparation to cope with monsoon challengesda rePortislaMaBad

In view of the upcoming mon-soon season and potential floods, the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has

stepped up its preparations from district to national levels, said PRCS Chairman Major General (retd) Chaudhry Muhammad Nawaz Khan.

Khan was chairing a meeting of the PRCS Managing Board, the high-est policy-making body, at the Na-tional Headquarters.

The PRCS has prepared a com-prehensive plan for thousands of families in case of a disaster. In this connection, the PRCS is also hold-ing meetings with other disaster-management-related agencies for better coordination and an effective response in case of floods.

The PRCS had recently trained hundreds of volunteers to deal with challenges and sensitised communi-ties in their respective areas in case of floods, he said.

General Nawaz told the partici-pants of the meeting that the PRCS,

with a proactive approach, was all set to respond actively to the mon-soon-related disasters in the best possible way to minimise the suf-fering of the vulnerable. He said that the PRCS had a capacity to cater to 35,000 families with food and shel-ters all over the country, especially in the disaster-prone districts.

He said the PRCS was committed to its motto “first to reach and last to leave”, and being the leading human-itarian organisation of the country, it would use all its human and material resources to support the victims.

PRCS Secretary General Dr Mah-boob Sardar, while briefing the board members, said that the agency as a first step had geared up its coordi-nation and planning efforts with the movement partners, International Federation of Red Cross, Red Cres-cent societies and sister national so-cieties, and discussions were being held to frame a mechanism for an effective response and secure proper funding in case of a massive disaster.

The secretary general said that 92 district branches, 43 disaster management cells, medical units

and thousands of volunteers along with 443 trained disaster relief train-ing members had started monsoon preparations in their respective ar-eas.

Dr Mahboob said that despite the PRCS’ experience of a number of disasters and emergencies handled in the last few years, it was gather-ing all its energies to respond quickly and efficiently, besides continuing its efforts and support in the rehabilita-tion and recovery phase by providing shelter, livelihood, healthcare and clean drinking water to the victims.

ISLAMABAD: Ro Kyong Chol, Ambassador of North Korea, shaking hands with Dr Shahzad Waseem, advisor to the Chair-man Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf at his office in Islamabad. DA

SMEDA for promoting trade with China, India, Afghanistan

BUreaU rePortlahore

Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) has proposed promotion of trade with China through Gilgit-Baltistan, with Iran through Quetta, with Afghanistan through Quetta/ Peshawar and with India

through Lahore for effective implementation of the Strategic Trade Policy Framework 2012-15.

Establishment of special economic zones in the border areas has been proposed as one of the recommendations submitted by SMEDA to the Ministry of Commerce regarding Strategic Trade Policy Framework Supplement 2013-14, a spokesman for SMEDA said here the other day.

The authority also recommended a sector development strat-egy for logistics to be implemented in collaboration with NTTFC and SMEDA.

In its proposals, SMEDA expressed its support to the Ministry of Commerce for establishing institutional framework announced in STPF 2012-15 for promoting trade and commerce, especially regarding taskforce for facilitating development of e-commerce, leather promotion council, export-import bank and service trade development council.

The Strategic Trade Policy Supplement 2013-14 is being devel-oped as a roadmap for effective implementation of the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF 2012-15).

Appreciating the comprehensive approach adopted by the Min-istry of Commerce, SMEDA expressed SMEs concerns regarding regulations and procedures to avail the announced incentives that are cumbersome as SMEs neither have the time, nor the financial strength to benefit from these incentives at times.

Procedure for exports by SMEs in terms of documentation etc must be simplified vis-a-vis those required by large enterprises and related information should be widely disseminated, he added. SMEDA has also proposed inclusion of additional monetary con-cessions, for selected high growth sectors, such as gems & jew-ellery that may also be included in the list of sectors for which mark-up support of 2 per cent on LTFF on purchase/import of machinery.

June 17-23, 201316


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Bill Gates rep meets Zardari, Nawaz

Polio eradication measures discussed

da rePortislaMaBad

President Asif Ali Zardari has said that polio eradication remains a high national priority and the pro-gramme has complete ownership

of all political parties.He was talking to representative of the

Bill Gates and Melinda Gates Foundation Dr Waqar Ajmal in Islamabad the other day. The president said that sustained ef-forts would continue to ensure timely polio vaccination drives as envisioned under the National Emergency Action Plan 2013.

The president said that despite challeng-es of inaccessibility in certain areas and at-tacks on polio missionaries by the militant mindset‚ anti-polio drive continues across the country this year. He said that such heinous attacks have been strongly con-demned by all sections of society and the whole nation stands united for this cause. He said that the government was ensuring the security of the polio workers who are visiting door-to-door to ensure full coverage of the polio programme.

The president noted with satisfaction that as a result of continued efforts by the gov-

ernment duly supported by all segments of society‚ the number of polio cases dropped to only 58 last year as compared to 198 in previous year. This year so far the reported number of the cases was 14.

He said that Ambassador for Polio eradi-cation Ms Aseefa was taking a leading role in providing assistance to initiatives aimed at eradicating polio and mobilizing masses’ support towards this cause.

The president also highlighted the role being played by the parliamentarians and the Ulemas who have issued fatwa in favour of polio eradication initiative.

Dr Waqar Ajmal appreciated the efforts being made by the Government for eradica-tion of polio from the country.

He also delivered a letter from Mr Bill Gates to the President in which he sought President’s continued support to polio erad-ication during transition period. Bill Gates assured that he would continue to follow Pakistan’s progress on polio eradication.

Talking to Special Representative of Bill Gates and Melinda Foundation Dr Waqar Ajmal in Islamabad‚ Prime Minister Mu-hammad Nawaz Sharif reiterated the gov-ernment’s resolve to eradicate fatal diseas-es like polio in the country.

We congratulate Qari Haroon Akmal on becoming secretary information

of Pakistan Thafuz e TherikSonia Rohail, Hajveria

Wahidi,Dr,Sohail Riaz(phd,Persian)

June 17-23, 2013 17


argentina envoy hosts dinner for Naghmana Hashmida rePortislaMaBad

The Dean of Diplomatic Corps and Ambassa-dor of Argentina Ro-dolfo Martin Saravia

held a dinner in honour of Ms Naghmana Hashmi, Additional Secretary Americas, the other day.

A large number of dignitaries especially from the diplomatic community attended the dinner.

KCCI bids farewell to Indian high commissioner BUreaU rePort

Karachi

The Indo-Pak governments should build more confi-dence building measures and resume the bilateral

dialogues from point left rather go-ing back to square one.

Members of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) organised a reception in honour of the High Commissioner of India Sharat Sabharwal to bid farewell on completion of his diplomatic assign-ment in Pakistan.

Chairman Businessmen Group Siraj Kassam Teli recognised the High Commissioner’s efforts on confidence building measures be-tween Pakistan and India.

He said he acted as a bridge be-tween two nations and played an important role in the recent bilat-eral talks on economic and com-mercial cooperation between two countries.

He expressed satisfaction over the positive moves by Indo-Pak

governments for strengthening commercial and economic ties dur-ing last two years. It is in the inter-est of both countries to live together maintaining cordial relationship and both sides are learning day by day, he opined.

He hoped the existing hurdles in respect to trade between two coun-

tries would overcome soon. He pre-sented his best compliments to the High Commissioner for his vibrant and meaningful interaction with KCCI during last four years and wished him best for his future.

KCCI President Haroon Agar ap-preciated the efforts of Sharat Sab-harwal to foster economic, trade

and friendly bilateral relations be-tween Pakistan and India.

Sabharwal successfully projected and promoted the interests of both countries and under the dynamic lead of Sabharwal disseminated information about trade with India, facilitated the members/business community in respect of consular

and visa services. The KCCI signed agreement

with Bombay Chamber to form Bombay-Karachi Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which has been recognised by the Indo-Pak governments, he added.

Sharat Sabharwal is equally pop-ular in the public, private sectors and the diplomatic circles.

Chairman Sindh Board of Invest-ment Zubair Motiwala informed an Indian company at Rajasthan border was interest to exploit Thar Cal reserves of Pakistan for produc-ing energy and provide electricity to Pakistan on barter-basis.

The Thar Cal reserves are avail-able in the Thar region of both sides of border. The Indian company is already generating electricity on the order side of border and has offered 1,700 megawatts electricity.

The Indian know about the qual-ity of Thar Coal and investors may invest in it while more confidence building measures are required on areas like Thar Coal and market ac-cess to European Union.

June 17-23, 201318


US rebuilding ties with Pakistan: Gen Dempsey

Monitors rePortWashinGton

The United States is gradually rebuilding its bilateral relation-ship with Pakistan in

the wake of 2011 tensions, the top American military officer said, as he also acknowledged that a defeat in Afghanistan would have fallout for Pakistan and the region.

“We are gradually rebuilding our relationship as reflected in the recent signing of a tripartite border document to standardise complementary cross-border operations and will continue to do so with Pakistan’s new lead-

ership following its historic elec-tion last month,” Gen Martin Dempsey said. Dempsey, who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff, was appearing before the Senate Committee on Appropriations to testify on the Administration’s fiscal year 2014 defence budget request.

The general recalled that when he appeared for a testimony last year, the effects of the November 2011 border incident with Paki-stan were still fresh, and tensions were as high as any time since the Osama bin Laden raid but things improved through bilateral en-gagement.

“Measured, but steady civil-ian-military engagement with

Pakistani leadership led to the reopening of the Ground Lines of Communication in July 2012,” he noted.When Senator Lindsey Graham posed the question to Dempsey what would happen if the United States-led allies lose the conflict in Afghani-stan, the military officer cited a number of possible implications.

“Well, the region will become unstable. Our — I think there will be problems on Pakistan’s border. Iran will be encouraged to be-come even more regionally aggressive — we could find a re-emergence of violent extremist groups.”

Hindus get representation in Punjab Assembly after 16 years

BUreaU rePortlahore

The Hindu community finally has some representation in the Punjab Assembly with Kanji Ram, a Hindu, elected

on the reserved seats for minorities from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

He is the second Hindu to reach the provincial assembly after Seth Bharta Ram who was elected in 1997. The Election Commission has issued a no-tification in this regard.

The PML-N had given eight names for the eight reserved seats allocated in the Punjab assembly for minorities and due to its huge mandate in the House, it has won seven seats out of the eight. One of its candidates, Asfandyar Bhandara, hails from the Parsi (Zoroastrian) community and resigned from the provincial seat as he was also elect-ed a member of National Assembly on the reserved seat. His vacant seat was allotted to Kanji Ram as succes-sor in the roll.

DFID delegation meets minister, discusses health issues

Sikh yatrees attend Jore Mela in Hassanabdal

islaMaBad

A delegation of the Department of Interna-tional Development (DFID) called on the Minister of State for National Health Ser-vices, Regulation & Coordination, Mrs

Saira Afzal Tarar here the other day. The purpose of the visit was to facilitate caucus

between the visiting DFID Chief Head of profession Mr Neil Squires and Senior Health Advisor Mr Des-mond Whyms and the Honorable Minister of State.

The meeting focused on understanding better the role and responsibilities of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation & Coordination. Dur-

ing the parleys the participants discussed ways and means of new intervention within the health sec-tor. Special emphasis was laid on matters related to health system strengthening and future plans for the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI).

Secretary, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation & Coordination, Imtiaz Inayat Elahi, briefed the delegation on the prevailing post-devo-lution health sector scenario. Mrs Saira Afzal Tarar assured the delegation that accountability, transpar-ency and efficiency will be the order of the day. She stressed the need for beefing up Health Awareness programs. She stated that it is her strong belief that prevention is better than cure. The Minister ap-

prised the delegation that with the newly defined role of this Ministry she hoped to see a marked improvement in coordination. The Minister stated that it is her ardent desire to hold a moot in the near future for engaging all donors/ stakeholders so that routine immunization can be strengthened to the same level as Polio. The DFID delegation suggested strengthening of the epidemiological picture of the country, a proposal which appreciated by all the par-ticipants. In closing the Minister thanked the delega-tion for DFID’s continued support and assured the delegation that the incumbent regime attaches great importance to the Health Sector and the well being of the common man. NEWS RELEASE

oUr corresPondentattocK

On the occasion of 407th death anniversary of Guru Arjun Deve Je the 5th Guru of Sikh religion, the Jore Mela ceremo-

nies were held in Gurdwara Punjah Sa-hib Hassan Abdal Attock.

The ceremonies of Jore Mela contin-ued till June 13. To participate in this

religious gathering Sikh yatrees arrived from India. Sikh community of Paksitan and across the world are also participat-ing in this gathering. Ceremonies of Jore Mela started with the old rites of Sikhs’ religion.

Sikh yatrees who came from India to participate in this religious gathering said that they were very happy to come to Pakistan and feeling as they were in their own country. They were received

warmly here. They said people of Pakistan gave them

love and affection and they would not forget it forever. Sikh yatrees further said that this is their utmost desire to remove hate emotion between India and Paki-stan and they live like two brother. They urged the governments of Pakistan and India to resolve the issues regarding visa policy. Tight security measures were taken during these Jore Mela ceremonies.

Egypt, Pakistan deny importing Israeli arms

da rePortislaMaBad/ cairo/ JerUsaleM

In an unusual concurrence of opin-ion, Egypt, Pakistan and Israel all agreed the other day that the Brit-

ish report, saying Egypt and Pakistan imported Israeli arms, was false.

Haaretz reported that a British re-port in 2011 stated that Israel exported weapons over the past five years to Pa-kistan and four Arab countries: Egypt, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.

Cairo quickly denied the report. The Egyptian Army denied the claims that it purchased weapons from Israel, ac-cording to a report published by the Egypt state information service web-site.

Military spokesman Col Ahmed Mo-hamed Ali called the claims baseless, adding that the army follows strict rules and that trust in the military es-tablishment should never be shaken.

A spokesman for the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) the other day categorically rejected a news re-port stating that Pakistan purchased defence equipment from Israel. The spokesman said the report was mis-leading and not based on facts.

Also, the Israeli Defense Ministry released a statement saying, “Israel denies selling any military equipment to Pakistan,” and that Israel plans to contact the British office in charge of export permits to seek an explana-tion for the information that was pub-lished.

RAWALPINDI: High Commissioner of Australia, Peter Heyward shaking hands with leader of Awami Muslim League and MNA, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad in a meeting at Lal Haveli.DA

June 17-23, 2013 19

Germany to help women entrepreneurship in pakistan: Klinner

da rePortKarachi

The Consul General of Fed-eral Republic of Germany, Dr Tilo Klinner gas asked the apex trade body – Fed-

eration of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) to provide him the concrete pro-posals required for promoting and strengthening women entrepre-neurship in Pakistan.

The German diplomat was talking to the acting President FPCCI Rukh-sana Jehangir along with Vice Presi-dents, Gulzar Firoz, Abdul Khaliq and Chairman Standing Committee on Foreign Investment Shaikh Hu-mayun Saeed, and Mir Nasir Abbas D.G International Affairs in a meet-ing held here the CG also discussed matters of mutual interests.

The CG also informed the busi-ness representatives that he would also hold one more session in FPCCI where he will bring the visa officer to streamline the visa issuance which is mentioned at every step.

The CG advised Rukhsana Jehan-gir to present all those proposals which require strengthening and support to women entrepreneurial projects from German agencies. He said that database of women stake-holders would be collected so as to progress forward and take up the matter in Berlin.

The Consul General Dr. Klinner was joined by Mian Abrar and Mr. Qazi Manag-ing Director BSAF, and President of Pakistan German Business Fo-rum. The act-ing President emphasized the need for close col-

laboration with the German Consu-late for enhancing bilateral trade and investment in Pakistan.

She further added that being a woman Vice President of apex trade body her prime objective is to give support to women entrepreneurs who are mostly small and medium, and require full support in the field of product development and capac-ity building on order to attract inter-national buyers and suppliers.

She requested the CG to get sup-port for Agencies such as GIZ and other prominent organizations and government agencies who can pro-vide support in the field of fairs and exhibitions, value addition, etc.

Vice President FPCCI, Gulzar Fi-roz pointed out that there were very little German delegations visiting Pa-kistan and emphasized the need for getting more trade and investment delegations. Especially after the visit of Ger- man For-

e i g n

Minister to Pakistan and after the general elections held in Pakistan the environment is feasible and con-ducive to business development.

He further added that FPCCI through Pak-German Business Council can promote collaboration in the field of chemicals, which will eventually help the export sector of Pakistan. Mr. Humayun Sayeed while appreciating the initiative taken by the Vice President, said that the FPCCI and Pak-German Busi-ness Forum are duplicating tasks by working in isolation with each other instead of work through the Busi-ness Council of FPCCI.

He suggested that we can work more positively this way, join hands and hold a joint session since both of us have a common goal. It was de-cided by the Consul General that an interactive session should be held at FPCCI having BoD of Pak-German Business Forum and office bearers of Pak-German Business Council PGBF would also like to take SAARC on board when they meet at the FPCCI.

Caption: The German Consul General, Dr Tilo Klinner is photo-graphed with Acting President FP-CCI Rukhsana Jehangir, Vice Presi-dents Gulzar Firoz and Khaliq Khan, Shaikh Humayun Saeed and Mian Abrar during their meeting at the

Consulate.w

Hizlan meets Na Speaker

‘Parliamentary links to further strengthen Pak-Turkey ties’da rePortislaMaBad

Ambassador of Turkey Babur Hizlan called on Speaker National As-sembly Sardar Ayaz

Sadiq here at the Parliament House and congratulated him on his elec-tion as the Speaker of the National Assembly.

The Speaker thanked the Ambas-sador and asked him to convey his best wishes and thanks to his Turk-ish counterpart as well. He said that peaceful transition from one gov-ernment to another smoothly was completed as a historic event which indicated commitment of the people of his country to democracy as well as upholding rule of law through the representative Institutions.

Ayaz Sadiq said that Pakistan considers Turkey its brother and a trusted friend who has always stood by in times of need. He said that re-ligion, history and culture bind both

the nations in fraternal bonds. He lauded the unwavering Turk-

ish support to Pakistan at regional and international level. He appreci-ated Turk assistance in socio-eco-nomic sectors in Pakistan especially the Mass transit project in the pro-vincial metropolis.

He said that enhanced interaction

between business communities of both the countries would boost eco-nomic activities for mutual benefit of both the nations.

Referring to the existing warm parliamentary relations between parliaments of both the countries, the Speaker desired for further ce-menting those relations through

enhanced interaction at parliamen-tarians as well as secretarial level. He termed it a befitting way for ex-changing views and learning from each others experiences. He said that Pak-Turk Friendship Group in National Assembly would soon be activated so that it could start its activities.

He was convinced that Pakistan and Turkey could play their role at PAECO level for enhancing cooper-ation between OIC members’ states.

The Ambassador reaffirmed his government’s continued support to the government and people of Paki-stan. He said that Turkish business community was keen to grab the huge economic potential in Paki-stan for which Turkish Mission in Islamabad had arranged interaction between businessmen from both sides.

He said that Pak-Turk parlia-mentary friendship group in Turk-ish Grand National Assembly exists and its Members were keen to in-teract with their Pakistan counter-parts.

He was confident that such in-teraction would further cement ties between both the brotherly coun-tries. He informed the Speaker that his Turkish Counterpart was keenly looking forward to his visit to Tur-key.

PM wishes good health for Nelson Mandela

da rePort islaMaBad

Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in his message of good wishes on behalf of the Govern-ment and the people of Pakistan for Nelson Mande-la, Former President of the Republic of South Africa,

prayed for his early recovery from his illness.The Prime Minister said that Pakistan greatly values the

friendly relations with South Africa and highly admires the role played by Mr. Mandela in strengthening the relations be-tween the two countries.

The well being of the great leader and statesman like Mr. Mandela is not only a blessing for South African people but is also a source of inspiration for all the oppressed people o f the world, added the Prime Minister.

The Premier further said that the valiant struggle of Mr. Mandela during apartheid era and rise of South African nation as a modern

democratic state has been an un-precedented achievement, which

will be remembered throughout the history.

Education bedrock of any society: COAS

da rePortraWalPindi

Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said that Education is the bedrock of any society and plays a pivotal role in nation building.

He made these remarks while inaugurating a recently constructed Branch of Army Public School, Fort Road Rawalpin-di.

With a huge campus, the school has the capacity to accommo-date 3700 students, providing a much needed relief to the pindiite parents, who had to wait for months to admit their children in school.

It may be mentioned here that there are a total of 126 Army Public Schools and Colleges throughout the Country which are contributing significantly towards imparting quality eduction for the Youth of the Country. Besides education, Schools being run under Army Public Schools and Colleges System are laying great-er emphasis on character development and grooming of young children. Lieutenant General Sajjad Ghani, Quarter Master Gen-eral Pakistan Army was also present on the occasion.

June 17-23, 201320


da rePortislaMaBad

Am b a s -sador of K o r e a C h o o n g

Joo Choi and Mrs Sunhwa Choi held a farewell recep-tion, wherein a large number of people, especially the dip-lomatic community, participated.

Korean envoy hosts farewell reception

June 17-23, 2013 21


da rePortislaMaBad

A five-member delegation led by Mr Wang Yitong, Chairman, China North Industries Corporation

(NORINCO), called on Prime Min-ister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif at PM’s Office the other day.

The Chairman, NORINCO con-gratulated Prime Minister Mu-hammad Nawaz Sharif on the as-sumption of his office as the Chief Executive of the country.

The Chairman, NORINCO briefed the Prime Minister that his company is one of the 500 largest state owned enterprises in terms of assets and revenue and deals in various areas, including petroleum, mining, engineering and infrastruc-ture projects.

The Chairman, NORINCO in-formed the Prime Minister that after the successful visit of the Chinese Premier Mr Li Keqiang to Pakistan, they have enjoyed special support of the Chinese government and leadership to boost business relations between the two friendly countries and undertake projects in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Shrif recalled that during the recent visit of the Chinese Pre-mier to Pakistan, he had very use-ful and fruitful talks with him and termed the visit of a delegation from NORINCO as a testimony that these relations were being further solidi-fied, strengthened and expanded.

While talking to the Chairman, NORINCO, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan is experiencing a se-vere power shortage. He invited NORINCO, which is engaged in pro-duction of solar power plants, to in-stall solar power plants in Pakistan.

The Prime Minister said that we have vast areas in Balochistan and South Punjab which have sunshine

round the year and there is ample land available for installation of so-

lar power plants in Pakistan.During the meeting, the Prime

Minister also discussed the pos-sibility of installation of solar en-ergy plants in Balochistan where population is thin, scattered and at distances. This, he said, would help save laying of transmission lines which have a prohibitive cost.

The Prime Minister also offered NORINCO to look into mining and setting up of coal power plants at sites in Thar, Balochistan and Pun-jab where coal is available. The work on the mining and setting up of Thermal Power plants, the Prime Minister said, can be carried out si-multaneously so that the power can be produced as quickly as possible.

The Prime Minister also offered NORINCO to look into the explora-tion of iron ore in the country. The Prime Minister also discussed the possibilities of projects for running underground trains in Karachi, La-hore and twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad in order to facilitate commuters in these cities.

The Chairman, NORINCO said that his company was serious and keen to take up projects in Pakistan. In this connection, the Chairman in-formed the Prime Minister that on his return to China, he would imme-diately despatch his team of experts to Pakistan to initiate discussions and take these ideas forward.

The Prime Minister assured the Chinese delegation that his govern-ment is ready and shall extend all possible support and cooperation to NORINCO for expediting the pro-cess so that work on these projects can start in right earnest.

The meeting was attended by Mr Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister Punjab, Khawaja Muham-mad Asif Minister for Water and Power, Mr Ahsan Iqbal Minister for Planning & Development and senior officials of the Prime Minister’s Of-fice.

Monitors rePort islaMaBad

The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has declared the stay of

80,000 Pakistani expatriates in the country legal.

Ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia, Muhammad Naeem Khan, said this during an interview, adding that 110 Saudi companies have started providing jobs to Pakistanis who have been living in the kingdom illegally. He said his meetings with different gover-nors were very fruitful.

He urged the people who went to Saudi Arabia for Um-rah and Hajj in 2008 and got jobs there to rectify their sta-tus till July 3. He said those who visited the kingdom during 2008 to 2013 and stayed there will have to leave Saudi Arabia till July 3, however they will not

be black-listed. He said they can come back to Saudi Ara-bia after getting work per-mit.

The ambassador said the Saudi government had granted three-month grace period to all illegal expatriates including from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lan-ka, Indonesia, Phillippine, Egypt and other countries to look for their sponsor. He said this grace period was granted after his meeting with Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah. He said he met sev-eral governors and in-

formed them that about 1.5 million Pakistanis were serv-ing the kingdom. He said the Saudi Arabia King, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz loves Paki-stani people and Pakistanis also consider the kingdom

their second home. To a question, he said he is

making efforts to get extension in the grace period. He said 12,000 Pakistanis who visited the kingdom during 2008-2013 and absconded will have to go back to Pakistan at all costs. He said the Pakistani missions in the kingdom have started

organising job fairs.He said cen-

tres have been estab-lished for Pakistani e x p a t r i -ates in Ri-yadh, Jed-dah and other big cities of

the kingdom, where illegal ex-patriates can get themselves registered. He said so far 19,000 people have got them-selves registered, adding that 110 Saudi firms were provid-ing them with jobs.

He said those Pakistanis who have left their sponsor are illegal while those who adopted a profession other than the one they had men-tioned in the job permit are also illegal.

He said he has appealed Pa-kistani expatriates in Saudi Arabia to get themselves reg-istered in Pakistani centres and look for their sponsors, warning that otherwise the deadline of July 3 will pass and they will face problems.

He said the Saudi Foreign Ministry has declared the steps of Pakistan embassy in this regard very admirable and asked the embassies of other countries also to take such dynamic steps.

meeting with chinese delegation

PM seeks chinese investment in energy sector

80,000 Pakistanis legalised in Saudi Arabia: Naeem

BUreaU rePortlahore

The memorandum of understanding be-tween Punjab government and Chinese company, NORINCO International, was

signed by Planning & Development Punjab Chair-man Sohail Ahmed and NORINCO International President Hu Farong. Under the MoU, NORINCO

International will extend cooperation to Punjab government for setting up an industrial city near motorway M2, construction of infrastructure for Metro training Lahore, launching of solar energy project, solar irrigation project and various pro-jects of roads. Under the agreement, Chinese Com-pany would provide financing, technical expertise and other services so that the projects could be executed expeditiously.

MoU signed with Chinese firm for industrial city near M-2

June 17-23, 201322


sPecial rePort islaMaBad

Terming it ‘an investment and business friendly’, the federal government has unveiled the budget for the fiscal year

2013-14 with a total outlay of Rs3.591 trillion.

Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar presented the budget in the National Assembly without any usual voices and shouting by the opposition. The budget is expected to be funded partially by tax revenues of around Rs 2.75 trillion. Dar said while presenting the budget that the government’s objective was to make tax-evaders pay taxes, and widen the tax net.

As the burden of circular debt has witnessed a whopping increase of 250 per cent to reach Rs14,284 billion, the focus of the budget is spurring growth by stabilisation of the economy, cutting down on non-development expendi-tures, enhancing productivity and over-coming the energy crisis, which has been costing the country two per cent of GDP annually, by bringing down subsi-dies and gradually increasing electricity tariff for all consumers.

The budget projects fiscal deficit at 6.3 per cent (Rs 1,651), GDP (gross do-mestic product) growth rate at 4.4 per cent, inflation 9.5 per cent while rev-enue target has been set at Rs 2.475tril-lion. Rs 1.155 trillion have been allocated for national development, Rs 926 billion for debt servicing, Rs 225 billion for en-ergy sector development and Rs 75 bil-lion each for Income Support Fund and human resource development.

The General Sales Tax (GST) has been proposed to increase from 16 per cent to 17. The pension of federal gov-ernment employees has been increased by 10 per cent, while the minimum pen-sion has also been raised from Rs 3,000 to 6,000.

A new 0.5 per cent levy has been im-posed on movable assets, while ‘adjust-able’ withholding tax has been imposed on wedding ceremonies, and foreign films and dramas. Tax rate on ciga-rettes and cold drinks has also been in-creased. An additional 5 per cent sales tax has been imposed on commercial and industrial electricity account hold-ers who are not registered as tax pay-ers. Tax on cash withdrawals from banks has been raised to 0.3 per cent.

Tax on vehicles has also been in-creased, however, a 100 per cent ex-emption from all duties and taxes has been granted on import of eco-friendly hybrid cars of up to 1200cc. The new budget earmarked 627 billion rupees ($6.3 billion) for defence, a 10 per cent increase compared to 570 billion rupees in the outgoing year.

Dar said in his budget speech that the government inherited a battered economy and the average rate of infla-tion stood at 13 per cent in the last five years. He promised that the govern-ment would focus on economic growth, resolve energy crisis, reduce fiscal deficit and tackle public debt for putting economy back on track. He underlined

the need to put an end to subsidies and reliance on others, adding that self-reliance could not be achieved without ending subsidies.

The minister said that GDP growth remained below three per cent and if compared with the population growth of about two per cent, the real growth would stand at just 1 per cent. He said that inflation has remained at 13 per cent which is highest during the past 4 decades while the foreign exchange reserves have fallen from $11.1 billion to $6.3 billion. The minister said that it seemed the country was being run on autopilot over the last five years.

He, however, expressed the hope that Pakistan would regain its lost glory, vowing that the government would ‘turn the tide’. “We are start-ing our journey from very precarious situation, however, the bad condition of economy has boosted our courage to lead it towards its desired heights of sustainability,” he said. The previous government, he said, had not looked after the economy in accordance with the national interests. The minister said that the nation has made better accountability by rejecting those who did not deliver in past five years. “We need self-reliant economy to run the affairs of the country,” he said, adding that the government would not involve in over-spending like the previous gov-ernment.

Dar said that the government was hoping to save Rs 40 billion through an austerity drive that entails freezing of secrets funds for all ministries and departments as well as by discourag-ing the VVIP Culture. “The Prime Minister’s discretion-

ary fund and secret funds of all government departments, except for national security agencies, have been frozen and scrapped,” Dar announced. The minister added that all ministers’ discretionary funds had also been scrapped, and that the expenses of the PM House will be brought down

by over 40 per cent. He also proposed ban on purchase of new vehicles for Prime Minister Office.

He was of the view that doing busi-ness was not the job of the government so it would make the private sector cen-tre of economic activities and introduce reforms in the market system. He said the government however would do in-tervene in those sectors where private sector has limitation particularly in education, health, population and huge infrastructure development sectors.

The finance minister said the gov-ernment is introducing the concept of a medium term plan for improvement of economy. According to Medium Term Macroeconomic Framework (MTMF), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate would be increased to 7 per cent in next three fiscal years (2013-14 and 2015-16), inflation will be brought down to single digit, investment to GDP will be increased to 20% and fiscal deficit will be reduced to 4 per cent.

Dar said the circular debt will be resolved in 60 days, as he requested to all consumers to pay their bills on time. “We will evaluate the allotment of subsides, 3G licenses will be sold in a transparent within the current fiscal year” and foreign exchange reserves will be raised to $20 billion in three years. He also announced that employ-ment opportunities will be created in the private sector. There will reforms in state owned enterprises. The first step is to appoint professional manag-ers who will be appointed on the basis of merit.

Dar announced that steps should be taken to set up a system which col-

lects taxes from those who do not

pay them. In an announcement

welcomed by the house, the finance minister said that the gov-ernment had planned to grant 100 per cent exemption all duties and taxes to imported eco-friendly hybrid cars up to

1200cc. He said that adjustable withholding

tax is being introduced on wedding cer-emonies, and foreign films and dramas while income tax laws will be reformed. A new 0.5% levy to be imposed on movable assets, will be channelled to Income Support Programme, he said, adding that he would introduce the levy by volunteering himself. He fur-ther announced that commercial and industrial electricity account holders will be charged an additional 5% sales tax if they are not registered tax payers. When they are registered this increase will be withdrawn, he added.

According to finance minister, “Budg-et is a part of medium-term economic framework.” An amount of Rs 21 billion allocated to the health sector for pro-grammes of immunisation, mother child care, family planning, reduction of blind-ness, and other national programmes, while Rs8 billion have been allocated for social welfare. The federal government, he said, would also assist the provinces in population welfare projects.

Calling human resource develop-ment vital for the national economy, he said total allocations for development of human capital would be Rs57 billion and Rs 18 billion is allocated for higher education. According to a study, num-ber of students in higher education will increase from one million to 1.2 million and 6,200 scholarships would be pro-vided to bright students.

The government has earmarked Rs 78 million for the Human Rights Divi-sion in Public Sector Development Pro-gram (PSDP) for the year 2013-14. Rs 5 billion have been allocated for Tameer-e-Pakistan Program. The minister said that Income Support Fund will contin-ue and the amount, with an increase of 80 per cent, will be increased

to Rs 75 bil-lion. He

however s a i d

t h e y

w o u l d m a k e

some chang-es to the pro-

gramme so people do not become dependent

on it. The finance minister also an-

nounced a programme for youth and other initiatives of Rs115 billion that in-cludes Prime Minister’s Youth training programme, Prime Minister’s Youth

Skill Development programme, Small Business Loans Scheme, Prime Minis-ter’s Scheme for Provision of Laptop, Fee Reimbursement Scheme for less developed areas, Prime Minister’s Mi-cro Finance Scheme, Prime Minister’s Housing Scheme and Public Works Programme for parliamentarians.

While describing the salient features of Public Sector Development Pro-gramme (PSDP), he said Pakistan has abundant water resources and it inher-ited a countrywide system of irrigation and dams at the time of partition, fol-lowed by building of Mangla and Tarb-ela dams which are lifeline of economy. The government has allocated Rs 59 billion for water projects including ex-pansion of Mangla and Tarbela dams, Diamer-Bhasha Dam, Gomal Zam Dam and various other dams and irrigation projects, he added.

The minister informed the House that Rs 225 billion have been allocated for energy sector in which Rs160 bil-lion was allocated in the PSDP and Rs 65 billion revenue would be generated by Gencos and Discos. Funds have been allocated for Neelum Jhelum Dam, Thar coal, Chashma nuclear power plant, modernisation of power stations and building of grid stations, he added.

Ishaq Dar expressed disappointment that during the last five years, invest-ment in industrial sector decreased and the sector grew on average only 1.8 per cent. The industrial sector is the mainstay of the economy and engine of economic growth and job creation, he said adding, laws would be improved to make the export processing zones more attractive for investors and Special In-dustrial Zone in Gwadar would be given more incentives. For the Textile Industry Division projects, he said, Rs 315 million have been allocated.

Referring to the building of unprec-edented Islamabad-Lahore Motorway by the PML-N government in 1997-99, the finance minister said Rs 63 billion have been allocated for building of highways and roads. He said roads in far flung areas, link roads and farms to market roads are essential to create economic opportunities and alleviate poverty. One of the government’s main strategic project would be to link Gwa-dar Port to the Northern Areas making Gwadar a gateway to Central Asia and access point for markets of Europe, the Minister said.

He said Rs31 billion was allocated for railway to improve a mode of trans-portation, which was remarkable at the time of partition, but now it is in shambles. He earmarked Rs 31 billion for Pakistani Railways. He added that work on Karachi Circular Railway is underway with the assistance of Ja-pan and it will be completed soon. The newly-elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has presented its first budget in record time of less than a week.

No salary was given in the budget, however the ruling PML-N announced a raise of 10 percent in the salaries of government employees after two days of presenting the budget.

Rs3.591 trillion outlay

Govt unveils ‘investment, business friendly’ budgetn Budget projects GDP growth rate at 4.4 per cent n Revenue target set at Rs 2.475 trillion n Rs 225 billion allocated for energy sector development n Gvernt hopes to save Rs 40 billion through an austerity drive n PM discretionary fund, govt depts secret funds get frozen and scrapped n PM House expenses to be brought down by over 40 per cent n Ban on purchase of new vehicles for PM Office proposed n Rs 21 billion allocated to health sector for programmes of immunisation, mother child care, family planning, reduction of blindness, and other national programmes n Rs 8 billion allocated for social welfare n Rs 31 billion earmarked for Pakistani Railways

June 17-23, 2013 23


Monitors rePortBanGKoK

Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt made an official visit to Roy-al Thai Air Force, where Air

Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong, Com-mander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Air Force, presented him the honorary Pilot Badge at Royal Thai Air Force Headquarters.

On his arrival, a smartly turned-out contingent of Royal Thai Air Force pre-sented the Guard of Honour. He laid a floral wreath on Royal Thai Air Force Monument. He also called on Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong, Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Air Force, in his office.

Both the dignitaries remained to-gether for some time and discussed matters of professional interest. He also attended a briefing on the organi-

zation, role and functioning of Royal Thai Air Force.

Earlier, Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force, visited the Royal Thai Air Force Academy, where he

was received by Air Marshal Wat-tana Maneenai, Superintendent Royal Thai Air Force Academy. The CAS, PAF attended a comprehensive brief-ing about the Academy’s organization structure and training.

oUr corresPondent QUetta

The residency of Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pa-kistan, in Ziarat was de-stroyed in militants attack

with hand grenades the other day, devastating the historical monument.

A police constable identified as Mu-hammad Tahir Jan deployed outside the Quaid’s residency was also killed in the attack while another sustained wounds.

According to details, four militants on two motorcycles entered the resi-dency and hurled hand held bombs.

All old memorials inside the resi-dency including memorial chairs, beds, and historic photographs of the founder were burnt to the ground in the resulting fire.

The wood structure of the residence was also burnt down, however, the exterior concrete structure was still

intact.Bomb disposal squad also claimed

to have defused six more bombs plant-

ed inside the residency.Police said the militants escaped un-

hurt from the spot.

oUr corresPondentQUetta

At least 30 people, includ-ing 14 students of a women university, the deputy com-missioner, Quetta, four FC

personnel and four nurses died and 16 others sustained injuries in multi-ple bomb blasts and firing incidents in Quetta.

The police officials said that 14 stu-dents of the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University were killed while 20 others sustained burn wounds in the blast in a bus belonging to the university. Almost an hour later, fir-ing and a suicide attack created panic at the Bolan Medical Complex, where most of the wounded had been shifted for treatment.

CCPO Quetta Mir Zubair Mahmood told media persons that the dead in the university bus blast were all women students, adding that it was an im-

provised explosive device. Another police official, Fayyaz Sunbal, said the bomb exploded after the girl students had boarded and the bus was about to leave the university to drop the stu-dents at their homes in the city.

Officials of the police, FC and ad-ministration reached the spot and cordoned off the area as officials of the bomb disposal squad examined the site of the blast.

As the dead and injured students were shifted to the Bolan Medical Complex, gunfire along with three explosions — one in the Emergency Ward — rocked the premises and at least three officials and four militants were killed in the ensuing gun bat-tles between security personnel and the militants. More than five gunmen had taken positions on the premises, restricting security personnel from entering the complex building. Three soldiers were stated to be killed in an encounter at the hospital.

CCPO Mehmood confirmed that the Quetta Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mansoor Khan who was shot in the head and chest during the siege, died.

The siege at the Bolan Medical Com-plex ended after more than five hours. The police said they arrested one of the attackers, while four blew them-selves up. Two pedestrians also died in the crossfire.

Deputy Commissioner, Quetta, four personnel from the paramilitary Fron-tier Corps (FC) and four nurses were killed during the siege of the Bolan Medical Complex, according to police and hospital sources.

Edhi Foundation sources said that four soldiers, four nurses, DC Quetta and two unknown pedestrians died in explosions and firing in addition to the four attackers.

Following the bomb explosions and exchange of intense firing, panic and fear gripped the BMC Hospital and its vicinity.

Air Chief receives pilot badge

Bomb attack destroys Quaid’s residency in Ziarat

Quetta carnage saddens atmosphere

Moderate cleric Hasan Rowhani elected president of Iran

Monitors rePorttehran

The Iranian interior ministry announced the other day that moderate cleric Hasan Row-hani has won the country’s presidential elec-tion.

Rowhani won with a fraction over the 50 percent of the vote needed to win outright on the first poll. Voter turnout was recorded at 72.7 per cent.

An Iranian state media outlet reported that Rowhani was born in the city of Sorkheh and earned his masters and doctorate degrees at Glasgow Caledonian Univer-sity.

After receiving more than three times the number of votes than his closest rival, moderate cleric Hassan Rohani has been declared the new president of Iran. Msnbc’s Alex Witt reports.

Rowhani was the closest thing to a reform candidate in the election to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after Mohammad Reza Aref dropped out of the race on Tues-day. Some Iranians showed their support for Rowhani on the streets by wearing purple bracelets. Aref’s with-drawal was seen as likely to help Rowhani, who drew substantial crowds at his campaign rallies. Rowhani also won the support of an advisory council aligned with reformist former President Mohammad Khatami.

Gulf leaders welcome new Iran president

Monitors rePortdUBai

Leaders of Gulf states have swifty welcomed mod-erate cleric Hassan Rowhani’s election as the new president of the Islamic republic, several state news agencies said.

“We look forward to working together for the good of this region and the Emirati and Iranian peoples,” the UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan wrote in a telegram to Rowhani, state news agency WAM said.

“We are keen to forge relations based on cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added.

Leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar also congratulated Rowhani, who grabbed 50.6 percent of the votes in Friday’s election, state news agencies in their respective countries said.


Diplomatic AffairsJune 17-23, 2013

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Film shows US envoy’s

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80,000 Pakistanis legalised in Saudi Arabia: Naeem

diplomatica affairs 17 23 2013

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