Chief Minister Hoti calls cabinet meeting

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti has called a meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet to review law and order situation and rehabilitation of flood-ravaged people.

The meeting will take place on Monday at 11am.



The provincial cabinet will mull over a plan to provide medical aid to Hepatitis-hit patients under the Benazir Income Support Program.

In addition, the meeting is expected to approve a project to provide technical training to 1, 000 male and female students of the province. Trend Pk

Chief Minister Hoti calls cabinet meeting

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti has called a meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet to review law and order situation and rehabilitation of flood-ravaged people.

The meeting will take place on Monday at 11am.



The provincial cabinet will mull over a plan to provide medical aid to Hepatitis-hit patients under the Benazir Income Support Program.

In addition, the meeting is expected to approve a project to provide technical training to 1, 000 male and female students of the province. Trend Pk

Zardari asks people not to worry about alliance of political orphans

President Asif Ali Zardari said that people should not worry about the alliance of political orphans and social plunderers. He said that political orphans are those demanding end of feudalism.
Addressing the ceremony held for the monthly draw of Benazir Income Support Programme in Badin, the President said that democracy knew better how to defend itself. He said that one-time tax would only be imposed on the well-to-do and affluent class.
He said that they threw Pervez Musharraf, a dictator, out of President House. He said that every flood-affected city and village would be re-built. He said that people will foil every conspiracy hatched against the elected government.

President Zardari’s arrival blocks all Badin roads

Staff Report

BADIN: President Asif Ali Zardari’s arrival created massive traffic jams across Badin after closure of all roads for public use by authorities. Long queues of motorists could be seen all over the city before his arrival on Friday.

According to details, policemen have been deployed to both sides of the roads from within Badin to six kilometers away from the city; the administration has closed all roads leading to Karachi and Hyderabad.

After these road closures, people were compelled to go on long walks to reach their destination.

During his visit, Zardari is scheduled to distribute Watan Cards and funds from the Benazir Income Support Program among Badin’s flood victims.

The President will visit a flood victim tent city in High School Ground and will also attend a meeting with the city’s dignitaries at Circuit House Badin. SAMAA

Zardari for using Google Earth to check land encroachment

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari Friday said that the government has initiated a drive against the encroachers and ordered a survey of all those areas which had been encroached upon, adding, all the encroached areas would be cleared of the encroachers.

He suggested the authorities to use the Google Earth to check whether the Goths of Karachi were old and not encroached upon.

“We welcome all those who are coming to Karachi, as it is their constitutional right, but not in the form of ”Qabza groups,” he said.

Speaking at the ceremony of 11th draw of Waseela-e-Haq and Smart Cards programmes of Benazir Income Support Programme here, he said, the government would fulfil the vision of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto of women empowerment.

The president congratulated the gathering that the Parliament has unanimously passed the Benazir Income Support Programme bill as all the political parties, under the reconciliation policy and showing maturity has acknowledged that it should be continued in future as well as it is in the best national interest and benefits the downtrodden section of the society.

“Government is committed to steer the country out of the present crisis and we all will together give a better Pakistan to our coming generations,” the President said.

He said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has done his B.A Hons and got the same marks which Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had obtained. He said, “now we will start his training-the politics is in his genes”.

“We will give the youth of Pakistan in his hand and he (Bilawal) will make progammes for the coming generations,” he said.

President Zardari said that presently the users of internet in the country are 20 million and in coming years they would reach to 200 million, adding, the present government wanted to provide internet service and a laptop to every home.

He said that now the time has come that the son of a ”Hari” in Sindh should know the outflow of River Indus.

The president said that he had raised the issue of water with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the UN summit two years back and he (Singh) had said that Pakistan can take the issue to the World Bank.

He said that the government had hired an international arbitrator who would talk with India on the issue.

Crack down on terrorists launched in Raiwind

RAIWIND: Intelligence agencies have launched a crack down on terrorists in Lakhowal area near Jaati Umra here on the leads provided by previously arrested criminals.

A ‘Walk-eye’ Operation was carried out in the above area with the help of sniffer dogs.

The personnel of intelligence agencies made door to door visits to obtain information and also conducted search with the help of sniffer dogs.

The officials told Geo News that they had information those coming to execute acts of terrorism in Lahore reside in rural areas while some suspects are living in Lakhowal near Jaati Umra.

The ‘Walk-eye’ operation is being carried out to round up the suspects, they added.

President urges world donors to extend optimal support to Pak

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday called upon the international donor agencies, world community and friends of Pakistan to extend optimal support and assistance to the democratic government of Pakistan.

He said the assistance would not only rescue our war ravaged economy, but also create vistas of opportunities for the people affected by the war against militancy and terrorism. This, he said, during a meeting with Vice President World Bank Ms. Isabel Guerrero who called on him at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. She was accompanied by Rachid Benmessaoud, Country Director, World Bank.

Those who attended the meeting included: Dr.Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Finance Minister, M. Salman Faruqui, Secretary General to the President, Ms Farzana Raja, Chairperson BISP, Malik Asif Hayat, Secretary to the President, Salman Sidique, Secretary Finance, Sabtain Fazal Halim, Secretary Economic Affair Division and spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar.

The President while referring to the human and material losses, Pakistan has incurred as a result of prolonged fight against militancy said that Pakistan has suffered immensely in the global fight against militancy and finds its economy gravely damaged by the war against militancy.

He said that the war would continue against militants till the complete elimination of this menace.

The President said that the government was looking forward to international donor agencies and other partners for support in facing numerous challenges.

He also called for trade and market access for Pakistani products into the US and European Markets to put our economy on the path of stability and prosperity and also to address issues of poverty and unemployment in the war affected areas.

The President appreciated the working relationship of Pakistan with the World Bank and emphasized the Bank to consider financing energy and water resource projects in Pakistan as the country was facing acute energy shortage and water crises which were adversely affecting the economy.

President Zardari also appreciated the World Bank loan amounting to US$ 145.6 million for Punjab Barrages improvement project.

Ms.Isabel Guerrero briefed the President about the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) of US$ 6 billion of the World Bank with Pakistan and also about various projects of the Bank and thematic areas of financing by the Bank in Pakistan.

She also showed interest in the Benazir Income Support Programme for empowering women in Pakistan. She said that World Bank was ready to invest in energy sector in Pakistan.

Hafeez ignorant enough to see causes of inflation

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh has said wheat and sugar prices have declined by 45 and 40 percent respectively all over the world, but he expressed ignorance over causes of alarming price hike of such basic amenities in Pakistan, Geo news reported.

He also sought proposals from finance ministry officials in regard to extend relief to people and to solve food crisis in Pakistan. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) which met under chairmanship of Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh concluded its meeting in no results.

ECC on Tuesday rejected the proposal to export two million tons of wheat at reduced rates, saying the government was not interested in benefiting foreign consumers, a senior official who attended meeting told Geo news.

Under the proposal of the Punjab government, two million tonnes of wheat was to be exported. But this would entail a loss of Rs 27 billion in subsidy, as the wheat price in the international market is much lower than in Pakistan.

Many ECC members were of the opinion that instead of benefiting foreign consumers, the same amount be distributed at subsidised rate through the Utility Stores to benefit the poor. Another proposal that came under discussion was that this wheat be distributed among the poorest of the poor through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

The ECC has constituted a three-member committee comprising secretary finance, secretary food and agriculture and secretary commerce, which will submit its recommendations in a week on how to handle the surplus 2 million tonnes of wheat in a manner that benefits the poor.

To a question, the official said that the Punjab government had procured 10.7 million tons of wheat as against its capacity to store 6.5-7 million tonnes of the commodity. Some wheat is stored in private stores but two million tonnes of wheat is surplus.

The meeting noticed that sugar prices in internal market had fallen by almost 50 per cent during the last four months. Similarly, the wheat prices in the world market fell by 45 per cent, from $300 down to $190 per tonne.

The ECC, which met under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Dr Hafeez A Shaikh, also discussed the import of sugar but the official refused to give any information about it except saying that the government wanted to provide maximum benefit to the people.

The issues of fixing of POL price by oil marketing companies and refineries and import of LNG through the Mashaal Project have been deferred till Thursday. An official press release said the ECC was briefed on the key economic indicators. It was told that various economic indicators had shown signs of improvement. The Quantum Index of Large-scale Manufacturing (QIM) registered a positive growth of 4.5 per cent during July-April 2009-10, against negative growth rate of 8.2 per cent during comparable period last year.

The trade deficit improved by 9 per cent to $13.9 billion in July-May 2009-10 from $15.3 billion in the same period last year. The workers’ remittances amounted to $8,064 million in July-May 2009-10 as against $7,076 million over the same period last year, showing an increase of 14 per cent.

Regarding the World Bank loan for reconstruction of berth 15 to 17 A and SRB’s 1 2 at the Karachi Port, the ECC decided that the proposed World Bank loan be lent to the KPT at a rate of 8.2%. The loan shall be repaid by the KPT in US dollars over a period of 30 years.

The ECC was informed that during July-May 2009-10, the average CPI-based inflation stood at 11.6 per cent as against 21.6 per cent in the same period last year.

Finance Bill 2010 passed in NA

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly has passed Finance Bill 2010 giving effect to the budget worth 3259 billion rupees for the next financial year.

The Bill was moved by Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and the House adopted the amendments moved by the Finance Minister in the Bill. The opposition members opposed various amendments moved by the government in the Finance Bill while the House rejected all amendments moved by the Opposition members.

A tax collection target of 1667 billion rupees has been fixed for the next financial year which will be nine point eight percent of Tax to GDP ratio. The budget deficit for the next fiscal year has been estimated at 685 billion rupees which will be four percent ofthe GDP.

An amount of 1033 billion rupees will be transferred to the provinces under the 7th NFC award compared to 655 billion rupees during the outgoing financial year.

The new federal budget provides 663 billion rupees for development activities at federal and provincial levels including 280 billion rupees for the federal government.

A number of measures have been taken in the new budget to benefit lower classes of the society which are facing great hardships due to price hike. One of the salient features of the next federal budget is grant of ad hoc allowance to the government employees equal to fifty percent of their basic pay. Similarly, pensioners who retired after 2001 will be allowed 15% increase and those who retired prior to 2001 will get 20 percent increase in their pensions.

Custom duty on twenty-nine items has been reduced while General Sales Tax on food items has been withdrawn in the budget.

Fifty billion rupees have been earmarked for Benazir Income Support Programme for targeted subsidy to the deserving people.

A new programme to provide employment to the rural unskilled workers will be launched during the next financial year in which pilot scheme will be initiated in 120 Union Councils of twelve under-developed districts of the country.

Early completion of development projects will be the key objective of the public sector development programme for the next year in which special efforts would be made to complete 300 megawatt Chashma Nuclear Power Plant besides construction of 1800 kilometers long highways throughout the country. The government will also take concrete measures to enhance power generation to overcome energy crisis during the next financial year.

Leader of the Opposition Ch. Nisar Ali Khan noted that for the first time in the political and democratic history of the country such along debate took place on the budget.

Members gave valuable input and the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and other members of the treasury deserve credit for listening to the criticism with patience.

He pointed out that last year the budget was unanimously approved but this year the Government has not incorporated any of the amendments proposed by the opposition members.

He argued that except for increase in the salaries of the government employees, no relief has been provided to the common man and instead relief has been given to well-to-do people. He said the PML(N) would neither own the budget nor vote for it.

Riaz Hussain Pirzada appreciated increase in share of provinces to58% from the federal divisible pool and demanded abolition of unnecessary departments. He congratulated the Prime Minister for his policy of reconciliation and the Finance Minister for his speech and said he has rekindled the ray of hope among people.

Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan said around fifty percent proposals of the opposition were acknowledged and incorporated in the budget.

He said 161 members participated in the debate on budgetary proposals for 12 days, consuming 39 hours and 37 minutes. He said expenditures of Presidency and PM House have been frozen.

PPP manifesto is to empower people: PM

MULTAN: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Saturday pledged to bring relief to people by resolving problems of price hike, unemployment and power shortages and law and order situation.

Addressing a public meeting on the occasion of foundation stone laying ceremony of Women University and Cadet College in Multan, he said, “With better vision and strategy we will overcome problems of people.”

The prime minister inaugurated Nawabpur road and Ghousul Azam road built with cost of Rs. 764 million and Rs. 346 million respectively.
Rs. 1,144 million will be spent on the women university while the cost of the cadet college will be Rs. 410 million.

The prime minister said people put their trust in Pakistan Peoples Party and vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and gave them vote of confidence in 2008.

He said that manifesto of PPP was to empower people particularly women. The prime minister reminded that PPP fulfilled its pledges to end dictatorship and restore the 1973 constitution to its original form.

“We ended dictatorship through dialogue and General Musharraf was forced to resign,” he said adding, “Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto always said democracy is the best revenge and we abolished dictatorship through democracy.”

The premier said PPP successfully adopted the policy of reconciliation, took along all the political forces and built consensus to get passed the 18th constitutional amendment from the parliament.

The passage of the 18th amendment would be written in history as a big achievement of PPP, which would be remembered as a party, which not only gave constitution but also restored it, he noted.

He said it also went to the credit of PPP that it brought in parliamentary democracy and strengthened parliament.

Respect of the parliament was restored in the eyes of the people and the world acknowledged Pakistan as a democratic country, he added.

He said Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) would be made more effective to protect the poor.

He said the whole nation was united in the fight against terrorism as people wanted to live in peace and Pakistani students studying abroad wanted to be treated with respect.
Terrorists maligned Islam, which is a religion of peace and love and has nothing to do with terrorism, he added.

The prime minister said PPP was a federal party with roots in all the four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.

“As a federal party, PPP is a guarantee for the defence, integrity and solidarity of Pakistan and for the 1973 constitution and it will run the country successfully,” he added.
He said he would lay the foundation stone of the monument of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto on June 21 and the place would be such that it would be visited by world dignitaries to pay homage to the Pakistani leader.

He announced to set up an engineering university in Multan. At present there is no such university in the whole region and students had to go to Lahore for studies.

About 125 acres of land has been allocated for the project to be overseen by the Federal Ministry of Education and Higher Education Commission.

He said he would instruct federal and provincial ministers, MNA and party leaders to go and meet people and resolve their problems. He said he would hold a party convention in Multan division to listen to problems of the people.

Besides other party leaders, Minister for Education Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali and MPA Syed Ahmad Mujtaba Gilani also addressed the gathering.

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