Observer & Busness 24 Jun 2012 - Oman Observer

NEWLY elected Raja Pervez Ashraf inspects a guard of honour at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad. — AFP
300 cast votes in PM election
ISLAMABAD — Of the 342
members of the National Assembly,
300 cast their votes
in the election for the new
prime minister. The winning
candidate, Raja Pervez Ashraf
of the PPP, bagged 211 votes
with PML-N’s Sardar Mehtab
Ahmad Khan securing 89.
At the moment, four National
Asssembly seats are lying
vacant. Elections could not
be held for the NA-42 seat in
tribal areas because of the law
and order situation while the
seat vacated by former prime
minister Yusuf Raza Gilani is
yet to be filled.
Membership of Farahnaz
8 dead in
Pak laundry
attack
ISLAMABAD — At least
eight people were killed and
two injured yesterday when
unknown armed men opened
firing in Pakistan’s southwestern
provincial capital of
Quetta. According to police,
two armed motorcyclists
barged into a laundry shop
located in Kaley Faizabad,
Sariab Road area of Quetta
near Haq Bahu building and
opened indiscriminate fire at
the people present there.
As a result of firing five
persons were killed on the
spot while five sustained injuries.
The injured were shifted
to Civil Hospital Quetta
for treatment where three
injured people succumbed
to their wounds raising death
toll to eight.
“At least eight men were
killed and another man was
wounded,” senior police official
Iskandar Tareen said.
Initial investigations indicated
that the victims were
“settlers,” he said, referring
to people who have settled in
Baluchistan but come from
other provinces of Pakistan.
There was no claim of responsibility
for the attack.
Police believe that the
shooting incident could be
outcome of personal enmity.
Meanwhile the citizens of
Quetta have expressed grave
concerns over uncontrolled
target killing and performance
of security forces to tackle the
situation. The police registered
a case against unknown
murderers and started search
for them. — Agencies
KARACHI — The port of Pakistan’s
southern city of Karachi
for the first time in its long
history of 125 years is going to
have its own floating dock with
a capacity of 2,500 tonnes for
repair and maintenance of its
large flotilla of dredgers, tugs,
pilot boats, survey boats and
other ancillary craft.
Official sources said yesterday
that the estimated cost
of the floating dock in the
world market would be around
$10 million, and after awarding
the contract, it is expected
to become operational within
a year.
The Karachi Port had been
Ispahani, a PPP lawmaker on
reserved seat, has been suspended
because of her dual
nationality and the party is yet
to nominate a member on the
reserved seat which fell vacant
with the death of Fouzia Wahab.
The PML-N has 92 members
in the assembly. Three
of its members are out of the
country and one abstained
because of his differences
with the party leadership. Of
89 votes polled by Abbasi,
88 were from his party while
Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, who is
head of his own faction of the
PPP, also voted for him.
Khwaja Mohammad Asif,
Raja Mohammad Safdar Khan
and Anusha Rehman Khan are
abroad. Sardar Mohammad
Mushtaq Khan, the PML-N
lawmaker from Haripur, did
not turn up to cast his vote as
he is reportedly considering
joining the ruling party.
Others who did not attend
the special session included
ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali
Kha, who also is out of the
country, Kashmala Tariq, Humayun
Saifullah of the Likeminded
faction and former
federal minister Amir Muqam
who recently joined the
PML-N.
8
SUBCONTINENT
OMAN DAILY Observer
Awais Leghari, son of
former President late Farooq
Leghari, who has joined the
PTI of Imran Khan, was also
absent. All eight members of
JUI-F though present in the
house, abstained from voting.
Talking to journalists outside
the parliament after the
election, Leader of the Opposition
Chaudhry Nisar Ali
Khan said time had come
for new elections. But he
declined to make any comment
when asked about the
new prime minister’s offer
for talks with the opposition
on holding free and fair elections.
— Internews
Top court to restart hearing
cases against Zardari
ISLAMABAD — Minutes
before his election as the new
prime minister of Pakistan,
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf received
a strong message from the
country’s highest court about
the corruption charges.
According to the Supreme
Court’s cause list issued yesterday,
a three judge bench,
led by Justice Nasirul Mulk,
will resume hearing the National
Reconciliation Ordinance
(NRO) implementation
case on Wednesday — the
same case that led to the disqualification
of Yusuf Raza
Gilani as the premier.
During the last two hearings
of the NRO case on May
depending on Karachi Shipyard
and Engineering Works
(KSEW) for maintenance and
repair work of its large fleet of
harbour marine craft.
Due to heavy load of work
at KSEW, many a times it
caused long delays for repair
and maintenance work of
KPT’s vessels which resulted
in huge operational losses to
the port.
The KPT chairman, Mohammad
Hayat, at a recent
meeting directed his technical
team to invite bids from manufacturers
and suppliers for procurement
of the floating dock,
sources added.
3 and April 16, the bench abstained
from passing any order
in the case of appointments of
several NRO beneficiaries to
public offices.
A judicial notice is expected
to be served upon the new
premier on June 27 to implement
the directives contained
in paragraphs 177 and 178 of
the NRO judgment, regarding
writing a letter to Swiss authorities.
Gilani was charged with
contempt by the Supreme
Court for not writing a letter to
Swiss authorities asking them
to reopen graft cases against
President Asif Ali Zardari.
The court had made it clear
Though the Karachi port
has its own dry dock which
was built in the year 1900 at
Manora, it could only cater to
the needs of repair and maintenance
work of small boats.
The dry dock at Manora is
undergoing major repair and
maintenance work, but port
and shipping experts suggest
that if the KPT is planning to
have its own floating dock, it
should stop wasting funds on
refurbishment of the dry dock,
particularly when it does not
fully meet their requirements.
However, experts are apprehensive
about the capacity
of the KPT for handling and
to Gilani that the NRO verdict
penned down by the full court
on December 16, 2009, had
given categorical directions
in paragraphs 177 and 178
regarding writing a letter to
Swiss authorities.
During the previous hearing
of the NRO implementation
case, the NAB chairman’s
counsel, Shaiq Usmani, submitted
three inquiry reports of
NRO beneficiaries allegedly
appointed by Gilani.
The court, however, rejected
the reports and ordered
a complete record along with
the summaries and dates of
appointments. — Internews
FAMILIES mourn the killing of their near ones outside a hospital in Quetta yesterday.
Karachi port to have floating dock
operating the floating dock
because the port has no experience
and required skilled
manpower for running such a
port facility.
The KPT purchased a stateof-the-art
trailer suction hopper
dredger (TSHD) which
remained functional only till
such time as the technical staff
of the Dutch supplier kept operating
it, they pointed out.
The experts said it is a brilliant
idea for the port to have
its own floating dock but the
port authorities should evaluate
as to who would operate it
and if the port has the required
expertise. — Internews
SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2012
Shifting focus for exports
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s exports
are gradually diversifying and its focus
shifting from the United States and the
European Union to Asia and Africa. Beijing
is now emerging as one of the biggest
markets for Pakistani products, after
Washington, followed by the United Arab
Emirates, Afghanistan, the United Kingdom
and Germany.
Pakistan has recently witnessed some
‘geographical diversification’ in exports
over the last few years. In 2005-06, about
half (47 per cent) of its exports were concentrated
in five markets, comprising of
USA, Germany, UK, Hong Kong and the
UAE, which have now shifted to other regions.
Their market share has now fallen
to about one-third.
Pakistan’s exports to one of its main
trading partners, the United States, have
fallen during July-May 2011-12 by 2.95
per cent to $3.579 billion. While Pakistan’s
imports fell by 28.35 per cent to
$727.76 million, leaving a $2.85 billion
trade surplus in favour of Islamabad.
China and Pakistan are in a free trade
agreement (FTA) and their bilateral trade
is increasing rapidly, but the trade balance
is in China’s favour. During the period
under review, Pakistani exports to China
ISLAMABAD — The International
Monetary Fund (IMF)
has nominated Jeffry Franks as
its mission chief for Pakistan
after Adnan Mazarei relinquished
his post on getting a
promotion in the bureaucracy
of the Washington-based multilateral
financial institution.
“The newly appointed
mission chief for Pakistan is
expected to visit the country
by next month for holding
introductory meetings with Islamabad’s
political leadership
as well as with economic managers,”
said a senior official of
the Finance Division.
The IMF has not appointed
US hopes new PM will
get ties back on track
WASHINGTON — The United
States on Friday welcomed
the election of a new prime
minister in Pakistan eyeing an
end to the political upheaval
in its key regional Asian ally.
“We are pleased that the
leadership issue appears to
have been settled,” State Department
spokeswoman Victoria
Nuland told reporters.
“We obviously look forward
to working with the new
prime minister and hope that
this will open space to continue
to roll up our sleeves and
get back on track with all of
the things that we want to do
with Pakistan.”
Ties between Washington
increased by 25.4 per cent to $1.847 billion
in July-May 2011-12, while its imports
stood at $3.857 billion. Pakistani
imports from China were more than twice
its exports to Beijing.
Pakistani exports to UAE also increased
by 9.64 per cent to $1.803 billion,
while imports went up by 18 per cent
to $6.078 billion. The trade deficit with
UAE stood at a huge $4.275 billion during
July-May 2011-12.
A cursory look at the State Bank of
Pakistan’s latest date shows that although
Afghanistan is also emerging as a big
exports market, yet its imports from Pakistan
during the first eleven months of
the outgoing fiscal fell by 25 per cent to
$1.254 billion. Experts attribute the fall
to be a result of the blockade of Nato
supplies to Afghanistan since November
2011. During these eleven months, Pakistan’s
imports from Afghanistan stood at
a negligible $11 million.
Pakistan is striving to expand trade
ties with India, which is supported by
the former’s business community. During
Jul-May 2011-12, Pakistani exports
to India increased by 15.67 per cent to
$310.53 million, while its imports fell by
16.27 per cent to $1.144 billion. Though,
IMF new mission chief
any resident chief in Pakistan
after Paul Ross left the country
last year.
Islamabad wants to initiate
preliminary discussions prior
to the annual meetings of IMF
and the World Bank that will
be held in Tokyo from October
12 to 14, 2012. It is the desire
of the economic team to go
for a new loan package during
the tenure of the interim set
up but that might not suit the
IMF, officials said. A senior
official said that it was not yet
finalised when the IMF’s mission
would visit Pakistan for
conducting post-programme
monitoring (PPM) in a bid to
and Islamabad have hit an alltime
low following a series of
events in 2011, including
a Nato attack in November
in which 24 Pakistani soldiers
were killed and led Islamabad
to shut down its border crossings
into Afghanistan to US
supply trucks, hampering the
US and Nato effort against the
Taliban. Talks to reopen the
crossings — vital as the US
draws down its forces in neighboring
Afghanistan — have so
far made little progress.
In his first speech to parliament
shortly after his election,
Ashraf promised to develop
“cordial relations” with
the United States. — AFP
gauge Islamabad’s ability to
repay its outstanding loans.
“In the next fiscal year
Pakistan will have to repay
around $3.9 billion to the
IMF,” the official said.
Sources said that the PPM
was due in May 2012 for
which an IMF mission was expected
to visit Islamabad. Pakistan
has paid back over $467
million to the IMF in May and
another instalment would be
paid by end of this month.
Pakistan has become eligible
for PPM as the country’s
outstanding IMF credit exceeds
the 200 per cent quota
threshold. — Internews
AFGHAN female students attend a seminar aimed at reforming Afghanistan’s
educational system in Kabul yesterday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for
more internationalised schooling in his country among a rising fear of a braindrain of
educated young Afghans before the 2014 withdrawal of foreign forces. — AFP
DHAKA — German Foreign Minister
Guido Westerwelle yesterday called upon
Bangladeshi political actors to work together
to further strengthen democracy
and establish rule of law in the Muslimmajority
South Asian country.
“Free and fair election, freedom of
expression and freedom of the press are
the central pillar of democracy and we
urge all political actors to work together
to strengthen democracy and rule of law,”
Westerwelle said at a joint press conference
with his Bangladeshi counterpart,
Dipu Moni, after official talks.
Westerwelle, on a two-day visit in
Dhaka, expressed concern over recent
killings of political activists and said he
expects the cases to be investigated and
the perpetrators be brought to justice.
KARACHI — The State
Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has
warned that fiscal pressures,
energy shortages, low investment
and weak external inflows
will pose threats to the
country’s economy in the next
fiscal year.
In its third quarterly report
on the state of the economy
released yesterday, the bank
said it has raised its forecast
for FY12 inflation by 0.5 percentage
points. According to
the SBP, inflation is expected
to range between 10.5 and
11.5 per cent during the current
fiscal year 2011-12.
The bank said that current
The ruling Awami League of Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina and the opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party of
former prime minister Khaleda Zia have
been at loggerheads over the method of
the country’s next generation election,
scheduled for early 2014.
The opposition has taken to the street,
demanding restoration of a system whereby
a non-partisan administration conducts
the polls, as has happened in the last three
national elections. The Awami League
opposes bringing that system back.
The street protests left many people
dead over the past two years.
The German minister, who is also accompanied
by a high-level business team,
will seek investment prospect in Bangladesh
while discussing co-operation on the
some business circles want enhanced
trade ties with New Delhi, yet they do not
support awarding it the status of the most
favoured nations (MFN) in the prevalent
conditions of an energy crisis with its
steep prices which make Pakistani products
less competitive.
During the period, Pakistani exports
to the United Kingdom increased by 2.7
per cent to $1.192 billion. The country’s
imports during these eleven months remained
almost static at $600 million.
Besides, exports to the European Union’s
major economy, Germany, fell less than a
per cent to $1.062 billion, while our imports
from it increased by 27 per cent to
$1.09 billion.
In the African region, exports to Kenya
increased by 24 per cent to $208 million,
to Tanzania by 37 per cent to $61.6 million,
to Egypt by 77.7 per cent to $202.4
million. While exports to Morocco increased
by 64 per cent to $29.3 million.
However, exports to Singapore fell by
35.7 per cent to $130.64 million, to Turkey
by 14.3 per cent to $574.2 million,
to Hong Kong by 23.6 per cent to $475.6
million and to Bangladesh they dipped by
26 per cent to $611.9 million during the
period under review. — Internews
Family of
five, 2 others
killed in
Afghanistan
KABUL — Five members
of a family were killed in
an attack on their house in
northern Afghanistan, the
country’s Interior Ministry
said yesterday while a bomb
in a market left two people
dead.
“A group of insurgents on
Friday night entered a house
in Almar district of Faryab
province, shooting dead five
innocent members of a family,”
the ministry said in a
statement.
An improvised bomb
exploded at a music market
in an Afghan city yesterday,
leaving two people dead,
officials said, a day after
militants stormed a lakeside
resort near Kabul, killing at
least 20.
The blast at the market in
the eastern city of Jalalabad,
close to the border with Pakistan,
wounded four people,
local government spokesman
Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said.
Two of the casualties
later died from their injuries,
Sayed Afandi Sayedi, a senior
doctor at the local hospital,
said.
Yesterday’s blast and Friday’s
bloody 12-hour siege at
a hotel popular with families
will add to fears that the Taliban
are seeking to re-impose
their extreme moral code as
the departure of foreign forces
approaches. — Agencies
Economy may be under
pressure next fiscal year
account deficit is likely to be
between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent
of gross domestic product
during this fiscal year and
fiscal deficit will exceed the
revised target of 4.7 per cent
and it will be between 5.5-6.5
per cent of the GDP during
FY12 as overall revenues are
lower than expected.
The report said although
the economy has shown some
recovery in terms of GDP
growth, the key macro indicators
still remain weak as persistent
inflation and pressure
on the fiscal and current accounts
will be the major risks
for the country’s economy.
German minister in Bangladesh
areas of climate change, energy security,
renewable energy, health services, good
governance and justice and law reforms.
The minister assured Germany’s support
to Bangladesh, one of the most vulnerable
countries to climate change effects,
in its fight for protection.
“We share strong commitments to
reach a new globally binding agreement
on climate protection,” Westerwelle said.
Meeting between him and Hasina and
members of civil society are scheduled.
Germany, which provided Bangladesh
with more than 2.5 billion dollars in development
assistance in 40 years of their
diplomatic relations, last week signed an
agreement to support Bangladesh with 75
million dollars in soft loans for a power
project. — dpa