Constitution may be amended for BB

[Neo]

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Constitution may be amended for BB​

* Musharraf-Benazir talks fruitful, not the first: Sheikh Rashid

LAHORE: The government will make amendments to the Constitution and remove the hitch for Benazir Bhutto to become prime minister for a third time, Federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan Khan Niazi said on Saturday.

He told Geo News via telephone that the Friday talks between President General Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan People’s Party chairwoman Benazir Bhutto were successful. Both leaders openly expressed their reservations before each other, he added.

He said Musharraf and Bhutto also discussed the appointment of a new army chief, as Musharraf might remove his uniform in his next presidential term. Pakistan Muslim League leader Hamid Nasir Chattha might become the next caretaker prime minister, he said.

APP adds: “There is a dire need for national unity to overcome the menace of terrorism and an understanding between the PPP and the government would be a good omen for the nation,” he said, adding that the PPP was a mainstream political party and could play its role in safeguarding national interests.

To a question, Sher Afgan Niazi said he would be a Pakistan Muslim League candidate in the elections and the party would return to the parliament with a heavy mandate.

Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed also said that the meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Abu Dhabi was fruitful. He also claimed it was not their first meeting, as they had already met on January 24.

“It was not their first meeting but the second in the series as the first was held on January 24 this year,” the minister told reporters here at a local hotel on Saturday, before a ceremony to mark the birthday of Hazrat Ali (RA).

He said things were “moving ahead in the right direction with the PPP” and “one should be hopeful of a better future for both parties (the government and PPP)”.

He said the government making a deal with Bhutto did not mean that the PPP would form the next government. The PML will form the next government as well, he predicted.

Sheikh Rashid said the government could not open talks with the PML-Nawaz, since three years of the reported 10-year deal between the government and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for the latter to remain in exile still remained. He said criminal cases were also still pending against Nawaz.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\07\29\story_29-7-2007_pg1_1

 

[BATMAN]

When does people of Pakistan will shun those politicians.
Musharraf provided Pakistani's a last chance to hold on for a better future but some selfish people are interested only in there own lives not that of there childrens.
Oh' my dear Pakistani's be united and work together to build Pakistan strong. You have no idea predators are waiting to eat you when you will be weak and alone you can't fight even for your basic rights.
Look around what happens to weak states.
Don't think for your self think for your kids future.
Don't forget fanatic mullahs and political leaders have no plans or brains, how to save your future.

 

[niaz]

When does people of Pakistan will shun those politicians.
Musharraf provided Pakistani's a last chance to hold on for a better future but some selfish people are interested only in there own lives not that of there childrens.
Oh' my dear Pakistani's be united and work together to build Pakistan strong. You have no idea predators are waiting to eat you when you will be weak and alone you can't fight even for your basic rights.
Look around what happens to weak states.
Don't think for your self think for your kids future.
Don't forget fanatic mullahs and political leaders have no plans or brains, how to save your future.

My dear friend politics is Power. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Musharraf will do every thing to hold on to power for another 5 years. He managed first time with the help from MMA, now that MMA are war path, he is courting PP. Politics makes strange bedfellows and if he is to woo BB so be it. End justifies the means is the basic principle of 'Real politik'.

As long as security council is in place, any PM would have less room to do whatever he/she desires. As an example, Mr 10% wouldn't have all his way as decisions can be questioned in the security council.

 

[Samudra]

Oh whatever happens to allegations of corruption against BB then ?

Musharraf will do every thing to hold on to power for another 5 years

I agree Sir. But what happens after five years ?

 

[roadrunner]

Musharraf will do every thing to hold on to power for another 5 years. He managed first time with the help from MMA, now that MMA are war path, he is courting PP. Politics makes strange bedfellows and if he is to woo BB so be it. End justifies the means is the basic principle of 'Real politik'.

If Musharraf really wanted to do everything to hold onto power for another 5 years, he would not be holding elections this year or next. He does not have to do hold elections, but if he did, it would be because of the independence of institutions he's created.

 

[niaz]

Oh whatever happens to allegations of corruption against BB then ?




I agree Sir. But what happens after five years ?

Naturally the allegations can carry own indefinitely. She wont be arrested on arrival, she cannot be disqualified unless conviction. Once she is in power, Govt can fudge the evidence so that she is finally acquitted.

Mush has already been there for 8 years, after another 5 years he can retire or go and live with son in the US. You will agree that 13 years in power is more than sufficient for most men.

 

[Bull]

Well now who said Mushraff was a god send saviour? Its a vicious circle, just keeps on repeating.

Now India needs to be really cautious, a Kargil might happen anytime as part of a new power struggle that might emerge in Pakistan.

 

[Samudra]

Now India needs to be really cautious, a Kargil might happen anytime as part of a new power struggle that might emerge in Pakistan.

True. If BB comes home and Musharraf finally puts his uniform to laundry the army is not going to keep quiet!

 

[BATMAN]

Well now who said Mushraff was a god send saviour? Its a vicious circle, just keeps on repeating.

How can you say that current CEO of a company performed better than previous?
Answer: Only by looking at the balance sheet, not judjing by whom he hires or fires!
Based on Pakistan's balance sheet he has proved him self the best CEO ever in the 60 years history of Pakistan.

Now India needs to be really cautious, a Kargil might happen anytime as part of a new power struggle that might emerge in Pakistan.

What is the gaurantee Siachen will not be repeated?
There is always a possibility of Kargil like operation untill India continue to act as bully state to it's peace loving neighbors.

 

[Adux]

There is always a possibility of Kargil like operation untill India continue to act as bully state to it's peace loving neighbors.

Now that is a classic

 

[BATMAN]

My dear friend politics is Power. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Musharraf will do every thing to hold on to power for another 5 years. He managed first time with the help from MMA, now that MMA are war path, he is courting PP. Politics makes strange bedfellows and if he is to woo BB so be it. End justifies the means is the basic principle of 'Real politik'.

As long as security council is in place, any PM would have less room to do whatever he/she desires. As an example, Mr 10% wouldn't have all his way as decisions can be questioned in the security council.

Mr. Niaz, As ususal your posts are based on true facts and are always great source of learning and guidence.
Again every word of your post is true and we all are witness to it.
Neither, I personally have any problems with BB taking the top post, its only on principal grouds I believe if she or any one else has done corruption or broke the law should face the justice.
In my personal analysis, I also doubt her loyalties and that of her clan.

I also believe We should play our role, so I seek your guidance to tell us whom should we give a chance and what role shall we play?

One thing is clear Zardari is totally unaceptable. I can tell you he was the one who has put Pakistan 100 years behind. I know few huge European corporations who came to Pakistan for investment and he as usual demanded % and they diverted to UAE and India.
That was the time when west was looking for some country to produce there products at competitive prices since that time almost every big corporation has invested either in China, UAE and later in India.
Last thing, I also consider N. Sharif the most stupid living man and would not like to see him back in office, ever.

 

[Bull]

How can you say that current CEO of a company performed better than previous?
Answer: Only by looking at the balance sheet, not judjing by whom he hires or fires!
Based on Pakistan's balance sheet he has proved him self the best CEO ever in the 60 years history of Pakistan.

What there in the balance sheet to be shown? A GDP of 6% and inflation of 8%, very impressive. If this is the best for 60 years god save your country.

What is the gaurantee Siachen will not be repeated?

Thats why we are not vacating it, understood kid?

 

[BATMAN]

What there in the balance sheet to be shown? A GDP of 6% and inflation of 8%, very impressive. If this is the best for 60 years god save your country.

What the hell you know about GDP and inflation? and you are comparing with what, do you know the situation of our economy in 1999. Do you know before 1999 at occasions N.Sharif government failed to pay the salaries of government employees and state bank was dictated by N.Sharif. I know much more than this and you are in no position to teach us who performed better.
Surprisingly in Musharraf's rule every thing turned around.
I analysed it a lot and reached to the conclusion it can only be 'miricale' so it was not Musharraf, it was Allah who chose Musharraf's rule for his blessings.
I must mention that I don't expect Allah to any thing for me, I believe Allah chose the people and is responsible for every happening around the world and this faith also relives me of tensions.
So, consider becoming Muslim and being blessed like Musharraf.

Comming to the point of inflation.
Do you know what is the biggest import bill of Pakistan?
It's fuel and do you know the prices and amount of fuel we imported in 1999 and today!
No you don't, so don't try to pull eggs out of your ***.
Pakistan lack basic industry as compare to demand, some how miraculosly people of Pakistan got rich overnight which resulted in mani fold increase in imports so this inflation was a surge and if economy sustain will continue to similar level until people quit luxury life or we build enough basic industry to meet the market demand.

That's why we are not vacating it, understood kid?

Mama, I will see how long your military sustain the occupation, I expect you comming to terms very soon.
A Muslim Indian friend of mine told me that Siachen is termed as frozen hell in IA and only muslim soldiers are sent there as they were in Kargil.

MOD EDIT name calling removed

 

[Cheetah786]

Well now who said Mushraff was a god send saviour? Its a vicious circle, just keeps on repeating.

7% growth of pakistans economy.what ever he is doing to hold on to powers is a ok by me.

 

[Cheetah786]

What there in the balance sheet to be shown? A GDP of 6% and inflation of 8%, very impressive. If this is the best for 60 years god save your country.


India’s wholesale inflation rate climbed to 6.73% in January, and prices paid by farmers are at an eight-year high of 8.94 percent. New Delhi expects unprecedented growth of 9.2% in the year to March 31st, the fastest pace after China among the world’s major economies. The economy has averaged 8.6% growth since 2003.


Thats why we are not vacating it, understood kid?

Easy to laught at others.

New Delhi has long touted its superior capital markets and banking system as a major competitive advantage over China, where real commercial banking is only two decades old and the central bank self-confessedly ill-equipped to independently handle the vagaries of a modern economy. Yet, the People’s Bank of China has adroitly kept the nation’s inflation rate well within the global average of 2.5 per cent while India’s inflation rate is currently more than double that, standing at about 6.5 per cent.

More embarrassingly for India, the bulk of China’s inflation is rooted in surging oil prices and a sudden spurt in the domestic cost of food oil, eggs, meat and grain, which have all logged double-digit increases in recent months. Once these costs are stripped out, core inflation in China can be seen to have held steady at less than 1 per cent over the past five years, Jonathan Anderson, chief Asian economist with UBS bank in Hong Kong, said recently. That is an astonishing fact, given China is enjoying record international trade surpluses ($177 billion in 2006) and has a raging hot domestic economy that grew at close to 10 per cent last year. Massive export earnings, helped by China’s under-valued renminbi, have also been flooding the financial system and creating asset bubbles in various areas such as real estate and the stockmarket (one of the world’s best-performing in 2006). Wages are also rising in the boom towns along China’s eastern coast and spiralling demand for raw materials are pushing commodity prices to record levels.

Yet, a retiree in Beijing can pick up his usual monthly supplies for pretty much the same price as he paid two years ago largely because of two reasons: an inflation-wary governor at the helm of the central bank, and an investment-crazy corporate sector whose current investments are running at about 45 per cent of the total gross domestic product, according to official reports.

Zhou Xiaochuan, the professorial head of the People’s Bank of China, has repeatedly stated inflation is China’s financial public enemy No. 1, and his actions have left no one in doubt of how seriously he means that. Over the past nine months, Zhou has raised interest rates twice and acted to curb bank lending a record four times in the same period, mostly by increasing the national credit reserve ratio. As a result, inflation is currently down to 2.2 per cent after climbing to 2.8 per cent in December 2006. China’s money supply (M2) also rose only 15.9 per cent in January 2007, less than the 16.9 per cent it climbed to in December 2006.

More significantly, Stephen Green, chief economist with Standard Chartered Bank, Shanghai, says the keystone factor in China’s low inflation is that companies here have been utilising their cash to make huge investments in building new capacities in numerous industries — from steel to TVs to computers. The resulting glut in products and services is holding down prices, says Green, as companies struggle to win customers and fend off ever-increasing competition. In contrast, India is still a supply-driven economy, where sellers can command sky-high prices from consumers aching to satiate years, if not decades, of their pent-up demand for products and services. While this applies across the board, it is especially true for those semi-luxury and luxury goods and services that more and more people now consume, but which are still not a significant part of India’s consumer price index (CPI). The cost of these items is substantially higher in India than China, both because of India’s high and compounding taxes, and because of the differing overall cost structures in both countries. Consider this: a 19-inch colour TV from Haier costs about Rs 3,000 in China and twice that in India, a Thai meal for two at a restaurant in Beijing costs about Rs 1,000, while in Delhi it would cost at least twice as much.

Part of the reason for the high price of such goods in India is that consumers here are more willing to pay for their new toys than their counterparts in China. “In developing economies, producers charge high prices just because they can,” says Edward Bell, head (planning), Ogilvy & Mather, Beijing. “Consumers are not sophisticated and unwittingly pay premiums for ordinary products.”

China’s inflation is also low because unlike India, the retail market is very crowded and competitive, making stores wary of consumer ire over rising prices. “If I raise my prices, people will just buy from someone else,” says Li He, a vegetable vendor in Beijing. “There is a supermarket down the road, where things are really cheap.” In India, vendors and stores raise prices more readily because real estate and capital shortages, regulatory and administrative difficulties with starting businesses, not to mention the necessity of dealing with local political hoodlums, have inhibited natural competition in retailing.




In some respects, these differences underline the gap in the economic maturity of the Chinese and Indian economies. But they also hint at the different political economy forming in both nations. Policy makers consistently have to choose between pleasing industry and consumers, and in China, authorities have learned to strike an awkward but effective balance between the two. While Communist Party oligarchs and powerful businessmen certainly extract their pound of economic flesh from self-serving policies, the government is also watchful of how much pain citizens are able to bear. Since the Communist Party’s fraying legitimacy is based in large part on its ability to provide economic benefits to its people, the government is at pains to keep inflation under control. Price rises could quickly alienate large parts of the population and further stoke the already deep disillusionment with the Communist Party across the country, says a professor of economics in Beijing who asked not to be identified.

In India, an analysis of recent industrial regulations and tax incidence shows that policy makers have been handing out sops to industries, and often specific industrialists, without an equal concern for protecting the economic interests of consumers. For example, the top effective tax rate for individuals is about 35 per cent, while for numerous booming industries, such as telecom, it is just about 17 per cent.

More significantly, China, like India, is also experiencing massive increases in the stockmarket and the price of real estate. But Beijing has acted fast to clamp down on speculative demand for housing by starting to enforce a land appreciation tax and increasing the amount of money buyers need to put down on purchases. Chinese authorities have also defended the stockmarket from speculators by suspending the launch of new mutual funds, telling investors to be wary of entering the stockmarket at this stage, and ordering banks to ensure that commercial loans are not used for punting on stocks.

India’s responses have been much meeker, says a commercial banker in Mumbai. “There is a view now in Delhi that the focus should be on allowing people and companies to make money and drive growth,” he says. “People think that will solve all economic problems and consumer issues aren’t really on the table.” Of course, the Congress Party could pay a price for that in the coming elections, and to avoid that, it might come up with some populist measures. “But the core issue, the basic way policy is being formulated, will not change,” says the banker.

The Chinese professor says it is not fair to blame India’s political economy alone for the differences in the way China is managing its inflation. The Chinese government, he says, has the advantage of being in direct control of a much larger part of its national economy. “Here, the government, central bank, commercial banks and state-owned enterprises (which collectively account for 60 per cent of the economy) can move in step,” he says. “In India, policy is less efficient. It is already a high-cost economy. High inflation will make India economically unattractive to investors.” Then he chuckles. China’s amusement with India’s monetary policy appears to be spreading.