Pakistan Economy - News & Updates - Archive

[Neo]

‘Up to $5bn will be added to reserves in 45 days’​

ISLAMABAD: The government has devised an action plan that would help bring in $3 to $5 billion in foreign reserves within 30 to 45 days, Adviser on Finance Shaukat Tareen said on Monday. The government has abolished subsidies in an attempt to overcome fiscal deficit, he said. If the government sought assistance from IMF, it would be cheaper to steer the country out of economic crisis, he said. app

 

[Neo]

Pakistan’s dependency syndrome​

Analysis by Rasul Bakhsh Rais

We can double our revenues if we have an honest and efficient tax collection set-up and governance that delivers, earning the confidence of citizens. This is the difficult task that, if accomplished, would break our begging bowl

Remember how our ruling classes bragged about having ‘broken the begging bowl’ without mending the structural problems of Pakistan? The routine panhandling before friendly states and international institutions — followed by repudiation for political mileage — is an indicator of the monumental failure to manage the financial resources of the state.

The economic crisis — some are calling it a meltdown — that Pakistanis are witnessing helplessly is due to the structural flaws of the economics and governance practiced by the Musharraf regime for almost a decade. A few pleasant macroeconomic indicators that suggested steady growth in visible sectors hid the weaknesses of other vital sectors.

There was phenomenal growth in telecommunications, banking and consumer finance, spurring the production of consumer items. These are the areas where the previous regime can take credit. But that had more to do with turning the economy into a consumer market of goods and services, provided largely by foreign firms, instead of building our own capacity to pay for these items through value-added exports.

Some troubling questions about economic planning remain. For example, could telecommunications, car manufacturing (or its financing through banks) in a weak foreign oil-dependent economy sustain growth in the long-term? Not really, and we saw the crumbling of the Musharraf-Aziz economy last summer well in advance of the elected government taking over in February this year.

The situation has since worsened, and the economic slide continues. Who is responsible? Even the present regime, an elected one at that, seems confused and unwilling to address the structural problems of the economy.

Our ruling classes — the military, the bureaucracy and the shape-shifting politicians — have always taken the easier route, one less costly in political terms, instead of taking the difficult decisions in the national interest. Borrowing from internal and external sources is a lot easier than generating resources indigenously, which requires efficient, law-bound and politically responsive governance. In such a system, taxpayers would also question the allocation of state resources, forcing power holders to be accountable and transparent. These are the last political virtues our ruling classes wish to embrace.

The main reason why the public is not willing to pay taxes happily, if at all, is the trust deficit of the government. Service delivery is so poor that most feel cheated while filing tax returns or paying indirect taxes on almost everything.

That the tax regime is loaded against the poor is evident from the fact that most taxes are consumption-based and apply on almost everything purchased by the poor. Affluent sections of society — professional groups, businesses, agriculturists and property owners — are hardly taxed.

The result is obvious: the ruling classes resort to easy finance, i.e. they borrow to fund expenditures. And both the administrative and development sections of the budget are misused due to lack of transparency and accountability. Pakistanis really don’t get bang for their buck.

Sadly, the budget deficit has remained unbridgeable. We have yet to see any politician, party or official even think about a balanced budget. The habit of borrowing, developed over decades, has added to our deficit because the mark-ups and debt retirement schedules drain a massive portion of the budget. This bitter fact is presented in such a diluted manner that after spending hours going through economic surveys and government documents, it is not possible to figure out the exact percentage of the national budget allotted to debt servicing.

And the hunger for easy debt remains strong, mostly due to wasteful projects. Often, large portions of loans from the World Bank, ADB and other sources is plundered by project managers and bureaucrats.

Have billions of rupees in loans from the ADB made a difference in improving our judicial system or, say, the environment of Rawalpindi? What about procuring World Bank loans to send rusty bureaucrats in their last few years of service to ‘upgrade their skills’ at foreign institutions? Can anyone justify obtaining foreign loans for tree plantation drives? What a greedy, unaccountable and anti-people lot we have as our rulers.

Pakistan will continue to pay back these loans for decades, while consultants, project managers, banks and bureaucrats continue to sit pretty. The nexus among these forces is strong, and national and international accountability institutions are took weak to hold them responsible for their malpractices. Our civil society and media, though developing faster than anyone expected, are not strong enough to question fishy deals or follow up on reports of corruption.

As we debate on how to get ourselves out of this economic mess, we must consider our resources and strengths and how best we can utilise them to reduce our dependence on donors to restore some semblance of national honour and sovereignty. It is not that we are a resource-poor country, the issue is how we utilise these resources.

Let us consider just two natural resources: our hydroelectric potential and coal deposits, one of the largest in the world. Each can generate nearly fifty thousand megawatts of electricity, or together over six times the power we are currently generating. Why have these resources not been tapped, and why are we loath to planning and executing projects of such high national importance?

Indigenous resource development in the energy sector would have given our industry a greater competitive edge as compared to the heavy burden placed on us by the independent power producers. There is more bad news: the new democratic government wants more of the same with IPPs setting up offshore units to feed our national grid.

Finally, bad governance and dependency go hand in hand. Our tax-to-GDP ratio is around 10 percent, while the average for developing countries is 18 percent. We can double our revenues if we have an honest and efficient tax collection set-up and governance that delivers, earning the confidence of citizens. This is the difficult task that, if accomplished, would break our begging bowl.

Dr Rasul Bakhsh Rais is author of Recovering the Frontier State: War, Ethnicity and State in Afghanistan (Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books 2008) and a professor of Political Science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. He can be reached at rasul@lums.edu.pk

 

[Neo]

PPP promises 3,000MW more from existing plants​

KARACHI: Leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party are sure that the shortage of power generation will be mitigated with the additional production of at least 3,000MW through the existing power plants by the end of 2009.

“We face a shortage of 5,000 MW but the installation of a new power plant will take at least three years,” PPP Sindh General Secretary Nafees Siddiqui told Daily Times on Monday.

He said that additional power might be generated by overcoming leakages and wastage, which needs good management, and enhancing the capacity of the existing power plants.

Advisor to the chief minister on political affairs Rashid Rabbani blamed the former government for the electricity-related crisis and raise in power tariffs. “We cried out when the former government decided to privatize KESC but the government turned a deaf ear to our genuine demand,” he said.

He added that Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and Sindh Minister Rauf Siddiqui have held meetings with the business community and discussed the crisis with them. They have assured them that problem will be solved soon. Leader of the House in the Senate Raza Rabbani has said that the third increase in tariff in a year by KESC is unreasonable.

“It has placed a huge burden on the working class. The privatization agreement froze rates for over five years,” he said in a statement issued from his office.

Raza Rabbani said that until an agreement is reached between the consumers and the KESC, there should be no disconnections of consumers’ electricity connections.

He warned that disconnections would have a serious effect on production and employment, adversely affecting the economy.

Nafees Siddiqui said that good management and cooperation of the consumers would help the relevant authorities to save 40 percent of the electric power that is consumed through kunda (illegal) connections.

However, no PPP leader could satisfactorily explain why of 60 percent law-abiding consumers are being forced to pay for the 40 percent theft of power. The finance minister had argued that the 31 percent increase was made in the utility bills because of 40 percent theft through illegal connections.

 

[Neo]

TDAP will send team to explore Russian market​

KARACHI (October 21 2008): Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) will send a trade delegation to explore Russian market in near future," said Syed Mohibullah Shah, Chief Executive TDAP. He was chairing a meeting with representatives of 10 major buying houses from Karachi, who apprised him of their problems, saying that 25 percent of Pakistan's exports are made to USA.

They maintained that due to US economic recession the country's textile industry is facing with severe problems. "There is a dire need to find new markets. Countries in Asia in general and Russia in particular are promising markets that have not been explored as yet. Entering into these markets will increase exports manifolds," said Mohibullah Shah.

He said that textiles and apparel is the largest contributing sector of Pakistan's export. He encouraged the representatives of buying house to visit Expo Pakistan 2008 as TDAP has invited much larger number of buyers this year as compare to previous years.

"It is expected that number of international buyers as well participation of exhibitors from all over Pakistan will be much larger this year," he said. He reiterated that there will be frequent interaction with trade and other stakeholders in future as well.-PR

 

[Neo]

Development of project consortiums: Gilani stresses need for Italian corporate sector participation​

ISLAMABAD (October 21 2008): Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said that Pakistan attaches great importance to its political, economic and cultural ties with Italy and both the countries share common perceptions on most of the regional and global issues, particularly terrorism and UN reforms. The Prime Minister expressed these views in a meeting with the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who called on him at the PM House.

While expressing Pakistan's desire for reinvigorated broad-based and long-term relationship with Italy, Gilani expressed the hope that Italy would extend its fullest support to Pakistan for greater market access for its products to the European Union markets. He underlined the need for Italian corporate sector's participation in development of project consortiums in various fields including infrastructure, energy, agriculture and mining.

Gilani conveyed the gratitude of the government of Pakistan to Italy for swapping its debt of $100 million for socio-economic projects and its economic assistance for the development of SMEs in Pakistan and said that the list of projects to be undertaken by Pakistan using this money would soon be conveyed to Italy. He commended Italian archaeologists valuable contributions to the conservation of Swat cultural heritage and expressed the hope that the establishment of Centre of Excellence of Archaeology in Swat would go a long way in benefiting Pakistani students and researchers. Underlining the fact that his hometown Multan was one of the oldest cities of the world, the PM hoped that Multan and Rome - the eternal city - will soon be declared as sister cities. He also welcomed the offer for the Italian assistance for rehabilitation of the old city centre of Multan.

The Prime Minister said that he is looking forward to meet his Italian counterpart on the sidelines of the Asem summit in China later this week. Franco Frattini stated that his visit was meant to reaffirm his government's desire to further strengthen the bilateral co-operation with Pakistan in multifaceted fields.

He underscored the common interest of Pakistan and Italy in the stability of Afghanistan and in war against terrorism as well as in UNSC reforms. Frattini informed Gilani that Italy in its capacity of leader of G-8 in 2009 would invite the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, India, Saudi Arabia and UAE to G-8 Foreign Ministers meeting to find ways and means for stabilising the situation in Afghanistan. He assured Gilani of complete support to Pakistan in the war against terror and of economic co-operation in trade and investment fields.

He said an Italian corporate sector delegation would soon visit Pakistan to explore the investment opportunities and hoped that both the countries will sign MoU on security and defence in the near future to promote defence co-operation as well as exchange of intelligence information. The meeting was attended by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi Minister for Water & Power, Raja Pervez Ashraf; Vincenzo Prati, Ambassador of Italy in Pakistan and other senior officials.

 

[dr.umer]

Bosnian company shows interest to invest in various sectors ​

KARACHI, Oct 20 (APP): Bosnia’s Tele Informatica, has showed interest to work in the housing, energy and railway transportation fields in Karachi.

In this regard Company’s CEO Mirco Skribic Monday met City Acting Nazim Nasrin Jalil. EDO Transport Malik Zahirul Islam, EDO Master Plan Ateeeq Baig and D.O. Solid Waste Management Khalid Javed were also present on the occasion.

Talking to the delegation, Nasrin Jalil pointed out that Karachi is an important location in the region and offers best investment opportunities to international investors.

She said that the projects which used to take years in the past, the present city government completed the same in months.

“We are focussing on the development of Karachi because we want the country to progress”, she said adding that Karachi is like backbone of economy.

Acting Nazim said that because of initiatives of present city government, score of investment opportunities were created here and because of continuity of development process a number of local and foreign companies are making investment here in various sectors.

She referred to city government’s efforts made during the last 3 years on improvement of obsolete infrastructure and said that just within 3 years underpasses, flyovers and roads were constructed and modern u-turns provided.

She observed that when Bosnian company will start work in the aforesaid fields, then it would not only add to facilities for citizens but would also provide job opportunities.

On the occasion Company’ CEO Mirco informed that this company represents six different copanies working in Bosnia. He said his company will bring investment to work in these fields while they would need certain facilities from city government.

He said he is visiting Karachi to get information in these fields and would again come here after a month.

Mirco said that despite incidents of terrorism in Pakistan, he is interested to work here.

 

[dr.umer]

Al-Minhal, SSI ink deed to launch mobile technology​

Islamabad—Al-Minhal Group, a leading telecommunication investment company of Dubai, and Sports Star International (SSI), have inked an agreement to launch state-of-the- art mobile technology in Pakistan. The signing ceremony in this regard took place at the occasion of G-Tax, the biggest IT Expo, being held in Dubai. Rashid Khawaja, the Consultant of SSI, and Sohail Mubarik Al-Azhari, the Chairman of Al-Minhal Group, signed the agreement.

Under the agreement, Al-Minhal Group, in collaboration with the SSI, would introduce latest mobile technologies in Pakistan with the investment of US$ 20 million. Al-Minhal Group would also telecast the transmissions and programmes of various Pakistani TV channels around the world through mobile phones and internet.

These services would also enable the subscriber to find out the locations of their friends and relatives and to trace the snatched or stolen mobile phone sets as well.

Moreover, Al-Minhal Group has announced that it would invest in energy sector of Pakistan in future as a joint venture with Sports Star International. Besides others, Saeed Khan Mohmand, the Counsel General of Pakistan, also attended the ceremony. He expressed his gratitude for Al-Minhal Group for investing in Pakistan and said that other organizations should also come forward to bring investment in Pakistan. On behalf of the Government of Pakistan, Talib Baloch, Managing Director of Pakistan Software Export Board, assured that Al-Minhal Group of full support in launching of these services.—APP

 

[dr.umer]

Govt to welcome Italian participate in PM housing scheme: Kakar ​

ISLAMABAD, Oct 21 (APP): A four-member Italian delegation, which is on an official visit to Pakistan on Tuesday called on Federal Minister for Housing and Works Rahmatullah Kaka and exchanged views on investment opportunities in the upcoming mega housing projects.

Ambassador of Italy to Pakistan Vinceazo Prati, Secretary Housing and Works Samil-Ul-Haq Khilji, Managing Director Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA) Raja Muhammad Abbas, Chief Engineering Advisor Ali Aabid and other senior officials were also present during the meeting.

Welcoming the Italian delegation the minister said that there exists tremendous opportunities for the Italian companies to participate in the upcoming mega housing projects for their mutual advantage.

He said that under Prime Minister Housing Programme one million housing units would be constructed annually in the country for the poor, needy and low-paid government employees and general public.

Secretary Housing and Works Samiul Haq Khilji informed the delegation about the salient features of the PM’s housing scheme. He said that Pakistan Housing Authority has identified the land area and initial framework where the housing units would be constructed.

He said that government would encourage and facilitate the Italian’s participation in the construction of houses/flat, which would benefit both the countries to learn from each other’s experience in the construction sector.

Head of the Italian delegation Agortino Da Polenz thanked the minister for housing and works for providing opportunity to exchange views on investment potential for finding a working plan regarding housing project.

He said that participation of Italian companies in the upcoming housing scheme would bring the two countries more closer to each other.

 

[dr.umer]

Number of mobile users in Pakistan exceeds 90 million​

October 21, 2008

KARACHI: The number of mobile phone users in the country has crossed 90 million.

According to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), an increase of 29 per cent was recorded in mobile phone subscription during the month of September in comparison with the same period in the previous year whereas it increased by 0.7 per cent against August.

 

[pkpatriotic]

Back to the IMF?
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Shahrukh Rafi Khan

Being abroad, I have witnessed economic debates carried out on these pages but avoided participating. However, I am breaking this self-imposed restraint given the stark choice Pakistan currently faces. It appears that the funds needed for fiscal and balance of payments support ($10 billion over two years, according to an IMF estimate) are not going to be forthcoming from our traditional friends, the Saudis or the Chinese, and the USA had its own agenda and problems. Going back to the IMF has been expressed as the default option and some suggest that this may be salutary.

For example, my fiend Nadeem Ul Haque (currently an IMF employee) and Meekal Ahmad (ex-IMF) write frequently as though there is only one source of wisdom, and that is the neo-liberal economic ideology promoted by the IMF, the WTO and the World Bank.

Evidence seems to have little to do with pushing this agenda since it is driven by a simplistic ideology suggesting that liberalisation, deregulation and privatisation are the answers to all economic problems. In economics, as in other social sciences, it is easy to downplay or reject critiques by questioning data, method, or interpretations although ideological predilections might actually be at play. Even so, there is mounting evidence that suggests that neo-liberalism has not delivered.

There are scores of case studies and cross-country studies (albeit suspect) that have questioned the effectiveness of specific neo-liberal policies. Also, economic performance in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa in the bad old days of state intervention far exceeded their performance under the tutelage of the IMF and the World Bank. The East Asian and South Asian economies did well by making intelligent use of their economic sovereignty and policy space. Dani Rodrik and Arvind Subraminian have shown that even the Indian economic takeoff had more to do with the pro-business policies of Rajiv Ghandi in the 1980s than with the liberalising reforms of the 1990s. In fact, even the latter were selective and contained. Perhaps the strongest indictment of the free-wheeling deregulation and liberalisation is the current global financial crisis.

The Musharraf takeover in 1999 had no political legitimacy, but at least it made a bid for economic sovereignty by ending the IMF tutelage. Unfortunately, this military regime's economic advisors sought to show that they were "more loyal than the king" and pushed the old, tried privatisation, liberalization, and deregulation agenda. The one major innovation the banker finance minister pushed, because that is all he seemed to understand, was a credit-based consumption-driven economy. The chickens have come home to roost and the country is bankrupted once again and facing across-the-board high indebtedness and risk that it has much less capacity and resources to deal with than economic tutors in Washington. A high profile debt committee was appointed in 1999 to get rid of the domestic and foreign indebtedness once and for all. However, despite much debt relief and grants (ironically some suggest $10 billion) and much big talk, the country is faced with debt driven economic disaster apart from other structural problems.

There are three key issues that confront the current political regime. Where to get the resources to overcome the current crisis and for the future? What to do with them in terms of a coherent economic strategy? How to build the capacity for implementing such a strategy?

This crisis can be seen as an opportunity. A wise Hungarian economist, Janos Kornoi, argued that firms in Eastern and Central Europe did not perform well compared to Western counterparts because they were on a soft budget constraint. He argued that since these companies always had the state to rely on if things did not go well, they were not driven by the hard edge of competition that meeting the bottom line generally produce for Western companies. The Pakistani state has been similarly inefficient because it has been able to drawn from time to time on benefactors, for strategic reasons, and the begging bowl has been the soft budget constraint preventing hard choices. It is now in a situation where for various reasons all "friends" have been aggravated and it must rely either on its own resources or go running back to the IMF.

If going to the IMF helps, why are we still in the economic mess we are in after so many years of their direct or indirect advice? IMF economists say things would be even worse had we not relied on their advice or, better, had we fully implemented it. Since history cannot be replayed this issue is difficult to resolve conclusively. Simulations tend to use dubious assumptions and are often controversial. One could argue that the military government was publically given high marks by the IMF for reform compliance but it has little to show for it.

As I pointed out earlier, evidence strongly suggests that neo-liberalism is disgraced as an economic ideology. As Samuel Huntington suggested, it is only sustained by powerful interests in the West for creating economies in its own image because this facilitates the global resource drawing interface. Eric Reinert and Ha Joon Chang have shown, drawing on history, that current high-income countries like the USA and Germany dispensed with the free-trade and liberalisation advise of the then economic leader, Great Britain, and protected their economic sovereignty and interests based on their own national economic institution. So, going back to the IMF is not a good option. However, avoiding this option requires coming up with resources.

Political regimes have options that military regimes do not, and perhaps it is finally time to make the hard choices and for the country to get on a hard budget constraint. First, there is much fat in the military budget; particularly weapon systems and off budget activities. The military can be persuaded that a strong economy is also in its long term interest; which really should not diverge from the national interest. Second, much fat can be trimmed from non-development expenditure line items. For example, if education is a provincial subject, why does the country need such a huge central educational bureaucracy and if it is to be effectively devolved to the district or lower levels, there are yet more savings to be had. Third, while attempts at land reform on social justice and economic efficiency grounds among others have failed, there is ample scope for progressive agricultural income taxes.

Thus, the needed resources are domestically available and the taxation, cost cutting, and expenditure restructuring must start now. A portion of the funds saved need to be used by the state to provide protection to the vulnerable adversely impacted.

 

[dr.umer]

Pak Telecom industry ripe to brace 3G technology; says Telenor EVP ​

ISLAMABAD, Oct 23 (APP): Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Telenor Pakistan, Irfan Wahab Khan Wednesday said that Pakistani telecom Industry was ready to brace the 3G technology as the relevant equipment prices have come down significantly during the past years. “The time is ripe for Pakistani telecom industry to brace the 3G Technology as the prices of equipment have come down significantly - thanks to the Chinese Industry. The introduction of 3G would not only enhance services but also would lure lots of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),” he said while addressing a workshop organised for working journalists.

The moot was titled “MNP to 3G - The Development of Mobile Communications in Pakistan” and hosted by Telenor Pakistan with an objective to inform the media on the development of mobile communications in Pakistan.

Manager Intercarrier Strategy, Salman Malik and Manager MNP, Nauman Arshad briefed the workshop participants on 3G and Mobile Number Portability (MNP) whereas CEO Jon Eddy Abdullah also gave a special message.

Irfan said the telecom companies have to provide high quality broadband bandwidth and the only answer to the question was 3G technology.

“The world is heading towards convergence. This is the time we should also take a jump into future. Today, the customers need high quality Internet and other high quality services. This would also help enhance the service of mobile TV,” he added.

On MNP, Irfan maintained that Telenor Pakistan continues to view Mobile Number Portability as an effective tool contributing towards availability of more choices for the consumer.

Salman Malik said 3G offers operators business continuity as the associated spectrum allows additional voice capacity to address urban capacity constraints.

“This would also bring more efficient spectrum usage to drive down operator costs; provides for enriching Value Added Services (VAS) to enhance customer experience and is considered the only viable solution to increase mobile broadband penetration in Pakistan,” he added.

Telenor Pakistan CEO Jon Eddy Abdullah, in his message, said that 3G offers broadband connectivity over mobile networks, which span the rural-urban divide, can stimulate internet penetration in Pakistan just like new 2G licenses boosted cellular penetration to record levels over just a few years.

“The time for introducing 3G technology in Pakistan is now, he said, and added that as the country needs a more efficient communications network, the 3G was the solution to it,” said Jon.

The presenters at the seminar explained that 3G is the third generation of mobile phone standards and technology that enables network operators to offer users a wider range of more advanced services. Whereas, MNP benefits the customer by giving him the liberty to choose the service provider with the best overall value while retaining his phone numbers including the code.

Only recently, Telenor Pakistan had sponsored a high profile seminar along with other telecom operators on 3G. The aim of this workshop was to create media awareness on what new technologies will be applied for 3G and what improvements have been made by the industry on MNP.

Telenor Pakistan aims at taking the expert’s role in keeping the media informed. Telenor ASA is an international provider of high quality telecommunications, data and media communication services.

It ranks as world’s 7th largest mobile operator with a total of 153 million subscribers in its mobile operations. Telenor Pakistan is 100 percent owned by Telenor ASA and adds on to its operations in Asia together with Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh.

 

[dr.umer]

Pakistan calls for conventional arms control to promote peace ​

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 22 (APP): Pakistan has called for controlling conventional weapons at the lowest possible levels of armaments and military forces, in order to promote regional and international peace and security. “A stable balance of conventional forces is necessary to ensure strategic stability, particularly in the regions riven with tensions,” Raza Bashir Tarar, the Pakistani delegate, told the General Assembly’s First Committee, which deals with Disarmament and Security issues.

“Massive induction of sophisticated weaponry accentuates conventional asymmetries and compels greater reliance on nuclear and missile deterrence in the regions that have such capabilities,” he said in a thematic debate on ‘Conventional Weapons.’

In South Asia, he said Pakistan was pursuing a Strategic Restraint Regime, which had three constituents: conflict resolution; nuclear and missile restraint; and conventional balance. As part of a dialogue to address outstanding issues and work towards strategic stability and nuclear risk reduction, Pakistan would strive for conventional balance at the lowest possible level of armaments.

“In the interest of peace and security in South Asia, there must be restraint both in the demand and supply of conventional weapons,” the Pakistani delegate emphasized. Tarar said that while there was an urgent need to address the challenge of small arms and light weapons trade, it was imperative not to allow that debate to divert focus from the destabilizing impact of the huge volume of trade in combat aircraft, aircraft carriers, airborne and early warning and control systems, missile defence, nuclear submarines and warships, as well as related technologies.

Such dealings disrupted regional balances and exacerbated tensions, he said. Driven mostly by commercial considerations, that trade had no meaningful legal or moral underpinning. The Pakistani delegate said that citizens of developing countries were the target clientele for such sales. For sellers, a conflict situation opened a window of opportunity for peddling the wares of destruction to both antagonists. It was a moral and legal imperative to promote conventional arms control at the lowest possible levels of armaments and military forces, in order to promote regional and international peace and security.

The key to ensuring success of conventional arms control was in its regional and subregional pursuit since most threats to peace and security originated from conflicts between States located in the same region or subregion. Efforts must be stepped up to curb excessive and destabilizing accumulation of conventional arms, as well as their uncontrolled transfers.

 

[dr.umer]

Pak-Saudi ties to strengthen in future: PM ​

ISLAMABAD, Oct 22 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said that brotherly relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are rooted in common ethos, shared values and faith which transcend the changing global environment and expediency of international politics. The Prime Minister expressed these views in a meeting with the Saudi Arabian Ambassador Awadh Asseri, at the PM House.

Paying reverence to the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the Prime Minister said these sentiments are deeply embedded in our hearts, and he believes that Saudi Arabia’s strength is Pakistan’s strength.

During the meeting, matters of mutual interests also came under discussion. The Prime Minister lauded the valuable contributions of Ambassador Asseri for strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries and expressed hope that these relations would be further strengthened in future.

 

[dr.umer]

Egyptian firm signs MoU for construction of housing units ​

ISLAMABAD, Oct 22 (APP): The Government and Egyptian firm on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for participation in the construction of houses/flats under the Prime Minister’s Housing Scheme.
Managing Director, Pakistan Housing Authority, Raja Muhammad Abbas and Chief Executive officer, Egyptian Arbiyya lel Istithmaraat Company Mohammed Metwall signed the MoU on behalf of their respective governments.

Federal Minister for Housing & Working Rehmatullah Kakar, Secretary Housing & Works. Sami ul Haq Khilji, Chief Engineering Advisor, Ali Abid, Director General, PHA, Shahid Nadeem and senior officials of the ministry also attended the ceremony.

Under the agreement, Egyptian firm has expressed the desire to develop affordable housing units as part of the Prime Mister’s one million housing program in various cities and towns.

The Egyptian company also agreed to make investment in Pakistan in order to build/develop low-cost housing units available at affordable price. The company would also construct commercial areas at the identified sites of international standards.

Minister for Housing & Works, Rehmatullah Kakar thanked the Egyptian company for showing keen interest in the mega housing scheme which would provide shelter to the poor, needy government servants and general public at an affordable cost.

He said that the government would welcome foreign investment in housing sector and extend all out cooperation to foreign and local investors in this regard.

Secretary Housing & Works, Sami ul Haq Khilji told the Chief Executive Officer of Egyptian company that all necessary arrangements have been finalized to launch the Prime Minster Housing scheme in the country. He assured him to provide maximum facilities and incentives to carry out the gigantic project.

It may be added that world renowned companies from Malaysia Canada, Germany Spain, Iran, China and USA have shown their keen interest to participate in the mega housing scheme and signed Memorandum of Understanding in this regard.

 

[dr.umer]

International donors must help Pakistan financially: Report ​

LONDON, Oct 22 (APP): A respected British daily “Financial Times” has urged the international community to help bail out Pakistan from its current financial problems. “President Asif Ali Zardari must be given the means to try to overcome the current crisis as well as improve the country’s long-term prospects. The best hope is an IMF loan, augmented by individual countries, that is flexible on conditions without compromising on the most vital of reforms,” said the influential paper in a comment.

The paper said amid global financial turmoil, countries are queuing up to IMF for support and Pakistan is the most precarious one.

It noted that Pakistan’s economy is in trouble with growth slowing, high inflation, the current account deficit widening in the past fiscal year and the IMF estimates the budget deficit to have been 7.7 per cent of GDP.

“A loan from the IMF, possibly jointly with other international institutions and bilateral donors, would shore up confidence. Pakistan may need up to $ 15bn over two years. This should stave off any immediate crisis.”

However, FT said in order to address long-term problems, structural reforms are needed, as they have been for years.

FT said IMF faces a dilemma of its ability to force reform by attaching conditions to the loan as heavy-handed intervention would be deeply unpopular in Pakistan.

But if some aspects of conditionality look too risky, Pakistan’s government should nevertheless be induced to endorse tax reform, raise spending on education and commit to rebuilding the country’s institutions, it added.

The paper spoke of Pakistan’s strategic importance and said any loan will have a political dimension given country’s unresolved conflict with India over Kashmir and has also been sucked into fighting on its Afghan border.