ISLAMABAD: Federal Budget 2009-10 envisaging a total outlay of Rs2.482 billion has been presented. State Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar presented the Federal Budget 2009-10 in which 15 percent raise has been announced in the salaries and pension of in-service and retired government employees.
The target of GDP for the next fiscal year has been fixed at 3.3 percent while measures will be adopted for bringing the inflation rate below 10 percent. The State Minister said the total allocation for Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) has been made at Rs646 billion; Rs 343 billion for Defence Rs31.60 billion for education sector and; Rs6.5 billion for health.
The allocation for Benazir Income Support Program has been raised to Rs70 billion which will be distributed among 5 million deserving people. Rs50 billion have been earmarked for the relief and rehabilitation of affectees of Malakand Division.
In order to impart training to the youth under National Internship Program Rs3.60 billion have been allocated. Under the program 30,000 youth will be provided professional training in their respective fields. The target for tax revenue collection has been raised by 15.7 percent to 1.3775 trillion while the rest of the expenditure will be met through foreign loans and grants.
Rs178 billion are expected to be received through Friends of Pakistan Consortium. The fiscal deficit is expected at 4.9 percent for the next fiscal year. Increase in the allowance has been announced for the armed forces deployed on the western front. This allowance will be equal to one month’s initial basic pay with effect from 1st July 2009, as announced by the President of Pakistan.
Feel free to share your opinion with us on the State Minister’s speech on Budget 2009-10.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Obama should mediate in Kashmir dispute
US President Barack Obama should play a role in bringing Pakistan and India closer to help them resolve the Kashmir dispute and also avoid a nuclear war in the region, a senior Kashmiri political leader said.
"It's time Obama declares a clear policy to help resolve the Kashmir dispute to end conflict between Pakistan and India because war against terrorism cannot be won without resolving this issue," said Sardar Atiq Ahmad Khan, former prime minister, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and President of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference.
"It is time that the world community, especially the US, play as mediator and facilitator to de-escalate the tension between the two countries because bilateral talks between India and Pakistan on Kashmir dispute have miserably failed during the last 62 years," Khan, told a press conference in Dubai.
Both Pakistan and India had stopped talks on the Kashmir issue since the Mumbai terrorist attacks last year. "The US should pressurise both the countries to resume talks to ease tension in the region," Khan said.
The former prime minister also stressed the need to seek an immediate interim solution to the Kashmir issue. "Troops should withdraw, trade between both sides of the Line of Control (LOC) should be opened, intra-Kashmir dialogue should be started and Kashmiris should be allowed free movement across the LOC," he said, reiterating his demand to reduce the Line of Control to the Line of Commerce.
"The international community cannot leave Kashmir issue hanging in the air unresolved because it can trigger nuclear war between the neighbouring countries," he said. Pakistan and India have already fought three wars on the issue.
"The unresolved Kashmir dispute not only poses a serious threat to the region but also to world peace," Khan warned.
"It's time Obama declares a clear policy to help resolve the Kashmir dispute to end conflict between Pakistan and India because war against terrorism cannot be won without resolving this issue," said Sardar Atiq Ahmad Khan, former prime minister, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and President of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference.
"It is time that the world community, especially the US, play as mediator and facilitator to de-escalate the tension between the two countries because bilateral talks between India and Pakistan on Kashmir dispute have miserably failed during the last 62 years," Khan, told a press conference in Dubai.
Both Pakistan and India had stopped talks on the Kashmir issue since the Mumbai terrorist attacks last year. "The US should pressurise both the countries to resume talks to ease tension in the region," Khan said.
The former prime minister also stressed the need to seek an immediate interim solution to the Kashmir issue. "Troops should withdraw, trade between both sides of the Line of Control (LOC) should be opened, intra-Kashmir dialogue should be started and Kashmiris should be allowed free movement across the LOC," he said, reiterating his demand to reduce the Line of Control to the Line of Commerce.
"The international community cannot leave Kashmir issue hanging in the air unresolved because it can trigger nuclear war between the neighbouring countries," he said. Pakistan and India have already fought three wars on the issue.
"The unresolved Kashmir dispute not only poses a serious threat to the region but also to world peace," Khan warned.
India, Pakistan de-link terrorism from dialogue
Pakistan and India have agreed to de-link the composite dialogue between the two countries from terrorism. The dialogue process was stalled in November last in the wake of Mumbai attacks.
“It should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.” This has been asserted in the joint statement issued here at Martim Hotel after three hours of talks between Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh.
No schedule has been given for resumption of the composite dialogue, but the two foreign ministers will hold a meeting in September on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) annual summit.
Following the three-hour meeting, Gilani said he has drawn the attention of the Indian prime minister to the complaints regarding Indian interference in Balochistan, where a low-intensity insurgency is under way. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and his Indian counterpart Shiv Shankar Menon had lengthy deliberations before the joint statement was finalised. The issue of interference in Balochistan by India has come up in the Indo-Pak prime ministers’ talks for the first time.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues, the statement added. The 37-liner joint statement said both leaders agreed that terrorism was the main threat to both countries. Both affirmed their resolve to fight terrorism and to cooperate with each other to this end.
Singh reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice. Gilani assured that Pakistan would do everything in its power in this regard. He said Pakistan has provided an updated dossier on the investigations into the Mumbai attacks and had sought additional information/evidence. Singh said the dossier is being reviewed.
In yet another significant development, the joint statement said both leaders agreed that the two countries would share real time, credible and actionable information on any future terrorist threats.
The statement said Prime Minister Gilani mentioned that Pakistan has some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas. Both prime ministers recognised that dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the Composite Dialogue process and these should not be bracketed. Indian Prime Minister Singh said India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues.
To some, the inclusion of Balochistan in the joint statement has internationalised the issue, what have you got to say?
“It should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.” This has been asserted in the joint statement issued here at Martim Hotel after three hours of talks between Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh.
No schedule has been given for resumption of the composite dialogue, but the two foreign ministers will hold a meeting in September on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) annual summit.
Following the three-hour meeting, Gilani said he has drawn the attention of the Indian prime minister to the complaints regarding Indian interference in Balochistan, where a low-intensity insurgency is under way. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and his Indian counterpart Shiv Shankar Menon had lengthy deliberations before the joint statement was finalised. The issue of interference in Balochistan by India has come up in the Indo-Pak prime ministers’ talks for the first time.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues, the statement added. The 37-liner joint statement said both leaders agreed that terrorism was the main threat to both countries. Both affirmed their resolve to fight terrorism and to cooperate with each other to this end.
Singh reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice. Gilani assured that Pakistan would do everything in its power in this regard. He said Pakistan has provided an updated dossier on the investigations into the Mumbai attacks and had sought additional information/evidence. Singh said the dossier is being reviewed.
In yet another significant development, the joint statement said both leaders agreed that the two countries would share real time, credible and actionable information on any future terrorist threats.
The statement said Prime Minister Gilani mentioned that Pakistan has some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas. Both prime ministers recognised that dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the Composite Dialogue process and these should not be bracketed. Indian Prime Minister Singh said India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues.
To some, the inclusion of Balochistan in the joint statement has internationalised the issue, what have you got to say?
Justice is blind, but it is half-blind in Pakistan
As reported, the legal fraternity has planned to take on lawyers who would defend former president General Pervez Musharraf in any court of law. The report further said anyone who would represent Musharraf in the Supreme Court would be an unfortunate lawyer. The lawyers community has conveyed to all those, who have hinted to become former president’s counsel that they would have to face the brunt of their fellow colleagues, if they offered their services to the person who allegedly brutalised the law professionals. The lawyers offering their services to the former president would become a security problem for the administration since a number of groups were hell-bent on taking revenge from Musharraf.
A former attorney general and eminent lawyer, Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, who is viewed as the author and inventor of mechanism that General Pervez Musharraf initially followed, has denied appearing on behalf of the former president. Sharifuddin Pirzada, who had detailed discussions with his colleagues here during the last one week on different legal matters, including one of Pervez Musharraf, left for Karachi on Friday. He is expected to be here on Wednesday next when Musharraf has to appear before the apex court. Pirzada will be present in the courtroom during the next hearing, but it is unlikely that he would take part in the arguments.
Today is the third day since this report was published, but no clarification/denial/suo motto so far, confirming the authenticity of the report and the legal community’s determination to continue with their terror by making the courts ‘no go’ areas for the dissenting lawyers, brazenly announcing to have taken hostage of the eminent lawyer Sharifuddin Pirzada and hurling all sorts of horrifying threats to the dissenters as well as the accused and their families seem reminiscent of those most feared Baitullah Mehsud, Fazllulah and other Fata, Swat terrorists, with whom our Army is currently engaged with.
Meanwhile, the Army has placed the services of a serving Army colonel who is still chief security officer of the former president at the disposal of the Interior Ministry. The colonel, who is highly professional and comes from a sensitive unit of the Army, was the CSO of the former president. Another major of the Army, who worked with Musharraf as his ADC, has sought retirement from the service and has volunteered his services for his boss. He too is looking after the protocol for the general and assisting in security, the sources said.
Let us pray that good sense will soon prevail before the rivals lose patience.
A former attorney general and eminent lawyer, Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, who is viewed as the author and inventor of mechanism that General Pervez Musharraf initially followed, has denied appearing on behalf of the former president. Sharifuddin Pirzada, who had detailed discussions with his colleagues here during the last one week on different legal matters, including one of Pervez Musharraf, left for Karachi on Friday. He is expected to be here on Wednesday next when Musharraf has to appear before the apex court. Pirzada will be present in the courtroom during the next hearing, but it is unlikely that he would take part in the arguments.
Today is the third day since this report was published, but no clarification/denial/suo motto so far, confirming the authenticity of the report and the legal community’s determination to continue with their terror by making the courts ‘no go’ areas for the dissenting lawyers, brazenly announcing to have taken hostage of the eminent lawyer Sharifuddin Pirzada and hurling all sorts of horrifying threats to the dissenters as well as the accused and their families seem reminiscent of those most feared Baitullah Mehsud, Fazllulah and other Fata, Swat terrorists, with whom our Army is currently engaged with.
Meanwhile, the Army has placed the services of a serving Army colonel who is still chief security officer of the former president at the disposal of the Interior Ministry. The colonel, who is highly professional and comes from a sensitive unit of the Army, was the CSO of the former president. Another major of the Army, who worked with Musharraf as his ADC, has sought retirement from the service and has volunteered his services for his boss. He too is looking after the protocol for the general and assisting in security, the sources said.
Let us pray that good sense will soon prevail before the rivals lose patience.
Baitullah Mehsud reportedly dead, how would it impact on Pakistan polity?
Baitullah Mehsud, the fearsome top leader of the self-styled Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan, is reportedly dead, killed. However, there is no categorical confirmation from the government, obviously because it has no physical presence in the area, where the US drones fired two missiles in the early hours of Wednesday.
Following four long days of suspense, Hakimullah Mehsud, Tahreek-e-Taliban spokesman and a close relative of Baitullah Mehsud reportedly denied that TTP Chief is killed claiming he is alive, an Arabic Television reported. However, a senior security official requesting not to be named insisted, “This is one hundred per cent true. We have no doubt about his death, he is dead and buried”, the official said.
Meanwhile, US said that Pakistan would be safer, if Taliban chief is dead. The spokesman for US President Barack Obama further said White House could not confirm the killing of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief, adding the people of Pakistan are now safer, if reports are accurate. The Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, led a violent campaign of suicide attacks and assassinations against the Pakistani government. He is believed to have been killed in a US drone attack. Describing Mehsud as a murderous thug, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday: “We cannot confirm whether he is dead. There seems to be a growing consensus among credible observers that he is indeed dead.”
If he is indeed dead — and many credible sources have independently suggested that he is in fact dead — then a devastating blow has been struck right at the heart of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, the umbrella group of militant networks formed under Mehsud’s command in December 2007.
Instead an Afghan Taliban spokesman Friday said that Mehsud’s reported death would not hurt the Taliban cause in Afghanistan. Among the religious parties in Pakistan thus far only Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam- Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman made a brief comment saying he was unaware how the TTP would react to the death of their leader. He also said that he could not predict the impact the death of Mehsud might have on Pakistan. He claimed Baitullah had been ‘martyred’ in the US drone attack, adding he termed anyone killed in a US attack a ‘martyr’.
On the other hand, Awami National party (ANP) leader and senior NWFP Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour urged upon the accomplices of Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud to lay down their weapons adding that the Taliban were already divided, and a division would emerge within the militia after the death of their leader. Barring handful of clerics and bigots, general public on the whole has welcomed Mehsud’s elimination.
May be, it urgently raises several issues---that you are invited to conceive of and suggest measures government tackling those deftly.
Following four long days of suspense, Hakimullah Mehsud, Tahreek-e-Taliban spokesman and a close relative of Baitullah Mehsud reportedly denied that TTP Chief is killed claiming he is alive, an Arabic Television reported. However, a senior security official requesting not to be named insisted, “This is one hundred per cent true. We have no doubt about his death, he is dead and buried”, the official said.
Meanwhile, US said that Pakistan would be safer, if Taliban chief is dead. The spokesman for US President Barack Obama further said White House could not confirm the killing of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief, adding the people of Pakistan are now safer, if reports are accurate. The Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, led a violent campaign of suicide attacks and assassinations against the Pakistani government. He is believed to have been killed in a US drone attack. Describing Mehsud as a murderous thug, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday: “We cannot confirm whether he is dead. There seems to be a growing consensus among credible observers that he is indeed dead.”
If he is indeed dead — and many credible sources have independently suggested that he is in fact dead — then a devastating blow has been struck right at the heart of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, the umbrella group of militant networks formed under Mehsud’s command in December 2007.
Instead an Afghan Taliban spokesman Friday said that Mehsud’s reported death would not hurt the Taliban cause in Afghanistan. Among the religious parties in Pakistan thus far only Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam- Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman made a brief comment saying he was unaware how the TTP would react to the death of their leader. He also said that he could not predict the impact the death of Mehsud might have on Pakistan. He claimed Baitullah had been ‘martyred’ in the US drone attack, adding he termed anyone killed in a US attack a ‘martyr’.
On the other hand, Awami National party (ANP) leader and senior NWFP Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour urged upon the accomplices of Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud to lay down their weapons adding that the Taliban were already divided, and a division would emerge within the militia after the death of their leader. Barring handful of clerics and bigots, general public on the whole has welcomed Mehsud’s elimination.
May be, it urgently raises several issues---that you are invited to conceive of and suggest measures government tackling those deftly.
SOLUTION TO SOLVE SUGAR CRISES PROBLEM BY DECREASING THE AGGREGATE CONSUMPTIONT OF SUGAR
Sugar is not a lifeline rather it generates health problems. In our society use of sugar is much higher than anywhere else in the world. Rather than controlling our consumption of sugar, we are worried about producing more and that does not make sense.
Personally, I do not have any dietary or taste problem without consuming sugar, why cannot we limit our consumption rather than spending on imports? And secondly, we do not have any right to consume something, which we are unable to produce, whether it is tea, sugar or betel. In this 21st century, we need much more things to spend on like technology and industrial machinery, so my request will be to minimize the use of sugar.
Personally, I do not have any dietary or taste problem without consuming sugar, why cannot we limit our consumption rather than spending on imports? And secondly, we do not have any right to consume something, which we are unable to produce, whether it is tea, sugar or betel. In this 21st century, we need much more things to spend on like technology and industrial machinery, so my request will be to minimize the use of sugar.
Sugar Crises in PAKISTAN THROUGH demand and supply effect
Sugar prices have risen from Rs. 26 / kg to Rs. 45 / kg in few weeks, although Pakistan is an agriculture based country. Is this a good sign for our economy?
Sugar prices have risen because of the demand-supply situation. The supply in the market is not enough to meet the current demand. Sugar is made from the sugar cane, but our production of sugar cane is declining because the land used for farming is now being used for other purposes. Besides, sugar cane is now grown on lesser and lesser area with each passing year in Sindh due to scarcity of irrigation water.
With less sugar cane and sugar production, the mill owners can hoard marginal quantities of sugar and cause crisis in the market to raise prices. Sugar shortage will be on the rise every year because of the reduced area of sugarcane crop and steady growth in population. The mills producing sugar are not doing their job efficiently. The investment done in this sector is not up to the mark. Thus, productivity have decreased.
The main reason for the current rise in sugar prices are created by the hoarders, wholesalers and the mill owners. These three parties have created a sort of monopoly in the country. They have started stocking sugar and thus decreased the supply, so to increase the current price of sugar because of large demand. They know the productivity of the country is decreasing and they can influence the supply situation to gain abnormal profits.
Up to 37 biscuit manufacturers have shut down their businesses and prices of bakery items and sweets have increased by 20 to 25 percent. The increase in sugar price had adversely affected the biscuit industry, as 155 out of the 250 units in the country had been forced to shut down. The closure of biscuit factories is leading to people losing jobs. The pharmaceutical industry had also been affected by the increase in sugar price. Hotel owners have upped the prices of tea from Rs5 to Rs8-10 varying from hotel to hotel and businessmen associated with the sweet business have also raised the prices of their products. Sweets which were earlier being sold at Rs120 to Rs130 per kg. are now being sold at Rs150 to Rs180. To meet the current demand, government have to import sugar from abroad, which would have a negative influence on the country's trade balance.
Sugar prices have risen because of the demand-supply situation. The supply in the market is not enough to meet the current demand. Sugar is made from the sugar cane, but our production of sugar cane is declining because the land used for farming is now being used for other purposes. Besides, sugar cane is now grown on lesser and lesser area with each passing year in Sindh due to scarcity of irrigation water.
With less sugar cane and sugar production, the mill owners can hoard marginal quantities of sugar and cause crisis in the market to raise prices. Sugar shortage will be on the rise every year because of the reduced area of sugarcane crop and steady growth in population. The mills producing sugar are not doing their job efficiently. The investment done in this sector is not up to the mark. Thus, productivity have decreased.
The main reason for the current rise in sugar prices are created by the hoarders, wholesalers and the mill owners. These three parties have created a sort of monopoly in the country. They have started stocking sugar and thus decreased the supply, so to increase the current price of sugar because of large demand. They know the productivity of the country is decreasing and they can influence the supply situation to gain abnormal profits.
Up to 37 biscuit manufacturers have shut down their businesses and prices of bakery items and sweets have increased by 20 to 25 percent. The increase in sugar price had adversely affected the biscuit industry, as 155 out of the 250 units in the country had been forced to shut down. The closure of biscuit factories is leading to people losing jobs. The pharmaceutical industry had also been affected by the increase in sugar price. Hotel owners have upped the prices of tea from Rs5 to Rs8-10 varying from hotel to hotel and businessmen associated with the sweet business have also raised the prices of their products. Sweets which were earlier being sold at Rs120 to Rs130 per kg. are now being sold at Rs150 to Rs180. To meet the current demand, government have to import sugar from abroad, which would have a negative influence on the country's trade balance.
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