March-April 2015 Issue

www.tradechronicle.com Vol. 62 - Issue Nos. 03 & 04 - March & April 2015 Rs. 200/- 

ESTABLISHED IN MARCH 1953 

62 nd -YEAR OF PUBLICATION 

PAKISTAN’S LEADING MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS, KARACHI 

Federal Commerce Minister Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan is cutting the ribbon to inaugurate the 1st Pakistan Mega Leather 

Show held in Lahore recently. Picture shows from (L to R) in first row, Muhammad Younus, Chariman PFMA, Muhammad 

Musaddiq, Chairman PTA, Chief Guest, S.M. Muneer, CEO TDAP, Mian Muhammad Idrees, President FPCCI, Mr. Gulzar 

Firoz, former Chairman PTA and others. 

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Chairman, Major General Asghar Nawaz; Aamer Khanzada MD Pegasus 

Consultancy and others are cutting the ribbon to inaugurate the Safe Secure Pakistan 11th International Safety & Security 

Exhibition & Confernce 2015 at Pak China Friendship Centre in Islamabad, recently. 

IN THIS ISSUE 

1st Pakistan Mega Leather Show concludes successfully 

Pakistan and Sri Lanka sign six agreements of mutual cooperation 

Motorways: Backbone of Infrastructure 

Pakistan Day resolution and resolve 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visits Saudi Arabia: Bilateral relations further strengthen 

New water reservoirs by Shakil Durrani Former Chairman of WAPDA 

11th International Safety and Security Equipment & Training Industry Exhibition in Islamabad 

TDAP to holds international exhibiiton Aalishan Pakistan in UK 

PICT realize note-worthy progress in 2014

Vol. 62 Issue Nos. 03 & 04 March-April 2015 Rs.200/- 

Trade Chronicle 

PAKISTAN'S LEADING MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS 

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ABDUL RAB SIDDIQI 

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ABDUL RAFAY SIDDIQI 

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EDITORIAL 


Pakistan and Sri Lanka sign six agreements of mutual 

cooperation 

Motorways: Backbone of Infrastructure 

ARTICLES & FEATURES 


Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visits Saudi Arabia: Bilateral 

relations further strengthen 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif distributes 

top companies KSE awards 

Pakistan economy shows signs of recovery: ADB 

New water reservoirs 

by Shakil Durrani former Chairman of WAPDA 


Next PMLS date sets 

Chief executive, TDAP inaugurated Pakistan 

Ptavilion at Hong Kong 

11th International Safety & Security Exhibition & Conference 

in Islamabad 

TDAP to hold international exhibiiton in UK 

Qaim Ali Shah, Sindh Chief Minister inaugurates 12th 

My Karachi 

REGULAR FEATURES 

Shipping and Ports 

People Events 

Automobile News 

Banking & Insurance News 

Telecommunication News 

Travel World

TRADE CHRONICLE 

We begin with the name of Allah the Magnificient 

1 ST Pakistan Mega Leather Show 

concludes successfully 

For the first time, all stakeholders of Pakistan Leather Industry - 

Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA), Pakistan Footwear 

Manufacturers Association (PFMA), Pakistan Leather Garments 

Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Pakistan Glove 

Manufacturers and Exporters Association have joined their hands 

to organize the 1st Pakistan Mega Leather Show, at the Lahore 

International Expo Centre in the first week of March 2015. 

The fair concluded successfully and credit goes to all segments of 

leather industries and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan 

(TDAP) for organizing the fair in a befitting manner. 

From 

Editor's 

desk 

Earlier, PTA was organizing leather fair in Karachi and PFMA its 

Footwear Show in Lahore separately but both fairs fade out from 

the scene now due to various reasons. 

The three-day 1st PMLS was inaugurated by Federal Minister for 

Commerce, Khurram Dastagir Khan, which was aimed to promote 

the leather industry and accentuate the country's image worldwide. 

Feedbacks from organizers suggest that a good number of 

orders have been booked and mega fair will be held on regular basis 

to boost up the export of leather industry. 

Around 250 Pakistani companies have displayed their products at 

300 stalls. Businessmen from Turkey, Russia, China, India, South 

Africa, Taiwan and Japan visited the fair apart from a large number 

of local businessmen and public. 

This is a good sign that industry had assembled at one platform 

to organize a single fair instead of holding Footwear show in Lahore 

and Tanners show in Karachi separately as in the past. This will 

facilitate the organizers to minimize fair expenditure and enable 

International buyers to place orders under one roof in a single visit. 

However, we suggest that holding of mega leather show should be 

organized alternatively in Karachi, Lahore and other cities as 

tanners mostly are based in Karachi and footwear in Lahore to 

meet their demands respectively. 

ABDUL RAB SIDDIQI 

The organizer has set date for next mega leather show from 27-29 

January, 2016, which is an attractive and ideal date for international 

buyers who can visit Pakistan followed by India International 

Leather Fair (IILF), which usually takes place in 1st week of February 

each year, thus buyers can plan their tours accordingly. 

PTA and PFMA should start international publicity of next mega 

leather show, in international leather magazines, so that maximum 

publicity could be possible, instead of giving the same at the 

eleventh hour. 

PTA Chairman Muhammad Musaddiq, who was also chairman of 

TRADE CHRONICLE - March~April 2015 - Page # 04


the Steering Committee for 

PMLS-2015, said that "This show 

provided a unique platform for 

the Pakistan leather industry 

including tanners, footwear 

manufacturers, leather garments 

and gloves manufacturers, 

chemicals companies and other 

vendors supplying equipment, 

machinery and components to 

the leather and its industry’’. 

The Group Dialogue between 

Pakistan and India was also held 

on sidelines of fair with theme 

"South Asia-India-Bangladesh- 

Pakistan: next HUB for Leather 

Footwear". India's Council of 

Leather Exports chairman M. 

Rafeeque Ahmed specially flown 

in Pakistan for the dialogue 

while Paksitani sides were 

represented by PMFA Chairman 

Muhammad Younas, former PTA 

chairman Agha Saiddain and 

Omar Saeed of the Service 

Industries. This provided an 

a m p l e o p p o r t u n i t y t o 

businessmen of both countries 

to share their experience for the 

promotion of leather industry 

particularly footwear. 

On the occasion, Trade 

Development Authority of 

Pakistan (TDAP) Chairman S.M. 

Muneer drew the minister’s 

attention to the pending ST 

refunds claims worth Rs.110 

billion of exporters. He said that 

the government could not 

achieve the export target of 

$50b by 2018-19 unless 

exporters were facilitated. He 

said the TDAP could enhance 

the country’s exports by up to 

$5b if the government made 

entire payment of refunds. 

We hope government would soon 

resolve ST Refund Claim which 

is impacting the performance 

of all export industries in the 

country. 

Meanwhile, data from Statistical 

Department shows that export 

of footwear from Pakistan rose 

while export of tanned leather 

and leather manufacturing have 

recorded negative trend in the 

period between July 2014 and 

February 2015. The tanners 

during this period exported 14.9 

million square-metres of finished 

leather, bringing in export 

revenues of $352 million. These 

figures represent a year-on-year 

decline in volume of 18.5% and 

a fall in value of just over 3%. 

Similarly, exports in finished 

leather products, including 

garments, fell in value by 4.8%, 

bringing in $412.6 million in 

the first eight months of the 

current financial year. And 

leather footwear exports fell by 

7.9% in volume to 8.9 million 

pairs. However, the value of the 

country’s footwear exports 

increased by 18.7% over the 

period to reach $89.4 million. 

In this way, the average export 

price per pair of Pakistan’s 

leather footwear increased from 

$7.76 in the first eight months 

of financial year 2013-2014 to 

$10.05. 

In last we hope government 

would consider with sympathy 

number of PTA issues such as 

withdrawal of collection of 0.25 

percent Export Development 

Surcharge (EDS) from the export 

proceeds, curtailing power and 

gas load shedding, improving 

law and order situation, release 

of Sales Tax Refund and Duty 

Drawback worth billion of rupees 

as well as other challenges 

causing impediment to the 

production activities and 

acceleration of exports. 

PTA Chairman appealed to the 

government to take stock of the 

situation and stop immediately 

recovery of EDS to enable the 

genuine exporters to play their 

viable role in the promotion of 

exports to achieve the ambitious 

target set by the government. 

EDITORIAL COMMENTS 

Pakistan and Sri Lanka 

sign six agreements 

of mutual cooperation 

Pakistan is the second largest 

trading partner of Sri Lanka in 

South Asia. Sri Lanka was the 

first country to sign a Free 

T r a d e A g r e e m e n t w i t h 

Pak istan, w hich became 

operational since June 12, 

2005. About 4,000 items can 

be imported to Pakistan from 

Sri Lanka Pakistan and Sri 

Lanka. Both countrie’s bilateral 

relations have achieved a new 

milestone when Sri Lanka 

President Maithripala Sirisena 

has signed six agreements to 

enhance bilateral cooperation 

between the two countries in 

the fields of sports, shipping, 

t o u r i s m , e c o n o m i c 

development, anti-narcotics, 

d e f e n s e a n d d i s a s t e r 

management during his three 

days visit to Pakistan recently. 

In a joint news conference after 

holding talks with President 

Sirisena the Pakistan’s Prime 

Minister Sharif said Pakistan 

attached great importance to 

its relations with Sri Lanka and 

wants to have stable and 

pe a ce fu l re l at i ons w it h 

Colombo. He added that these 

agreements will pave the way 

for further expanding bilateral 

ties. The two countries agreed 



to increase the current trade 

of US$ 438 million to USD 1 

billion within the next few 

years. 

F e de r a t io n o f P a k i st a n 

Chambers of Cmmerce and 

Indsutry (FPCCI), Lahore 

Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry (LCCI) and other trade 

bodies termed that the Sri 

Lankan President's visit to 

Pakistan would strengthen the 

economic ties between the two 

countries and help overcome 

poverty challenges. Both 

governments should evaluate 

collaboration in construction, 

sugar, cement, paper and paper 

board, electronics, software 

development, food processing 

and pr eserva tion, dair y 

products, LPG cylinders and 

storage tanks, mineral mining, 

handicrafts, gem and jewellery 

and l ivestoc k bree di ng. 

The News International in its 

recent editorial has pointed out 

that P akistan’s growing 

isolation in the international 

community has been a matter 

of concern and adversely affects 

many aspects of life. Even more 

important is the need for friends 

close to home, and in this 

context the firm handshake 

retained with Sri Lanka for well 

over a decade is important to 

both countries. That handshake 

was made firmer as Sri Lanka 

became the first country in the 

region to sign an agreement 

with Pakistan on cooperation 

in matters of civil nuclear 

technology. 

We must point out here that 

despite the attack on the Sri 

Lankan cricket team in Lahore, 

relations between the two 

countries continue to be strong 

and cordial. The Prime Minister 

Nawaz Sharif’s government is 

working hard to maintain close 

diplomatic ties with its regional 

neighbours. The visit of the Sri 

Lankan President at the 

invitation of Prime Minister 

Nawaz Sharif and President 

Mamnoon Hussain and the long 

awaited visit of the Chinese 

President later this month 

shows the government’s 

sincerity towards improving the 

country’s foreign policy. This 

trend should continue and 

Pakistan should play an 

important role in regional 

politics and maintain healthy 

and balanced relations with all 

its neighbours. 

Motorways : Backbone of Infrastructure 

Pakistan Prime Minister Mian 

Muhammad Nawaz Sharif 

during his last regime and in 

present, always lays great 

emphasis on development of 

infrastructure in general and 

motorways in particular. 

National Highway Authority 

(NHA) is also playing due role 

in executing these projects. 

Importance can be assessed 

the way Prime Minister of 

Pakistan Mr. Nawaz Sharif, laid 

the foundation stone of first 

ph ase of M -9 Motor wa y 

between Karachi-Hyderabad 

will which later be linked with 

Lahore. He was also scheduled 

to inaugurate Faisalabad – 

Gojra Motorway M-4 recently 

but could not do so due to his 

e n g a g e m e n t i n o t h e r 

important matters of national 

interest. However, it was 

inaugurated by Punjab Actg. 

Governor Rana Muhammad 

Iqbal. 

Nawaz Sharif said that his 

government was laying a 

network of motorways across 

the country, which would 

reduce the distance between 

people and increase interaction 

and commercial activities 

among the provinces. But 

Govt. should also focus on the 

development of dams for cheap 

source of hydel energy and 

storage of water and transport 

facility th rou gh modern 

Railway system. 

Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan had 

started building the motorway 

in 1991, but after the removal 

of his government in 1999 

work on ongoing projects was 

stopped and as a result “we 

are standing where we have 

started 20 years ago, while 

other countries, which had 

initiated the projects at the 

same time, had left us far 

behind”. “We ourselves have 

created obstacles in the 

progress of our country. Now 

we have to learn from our 

mistakes because we could not 

ma k e p r o g r e s s w i t h o u t 

reforming ourselves”, he 

added. 

Needless to say, motorways 

provide number of benefits 

including enhanced business 

activities, economic progress, 

increased employment & 

business opportunities, saving 

of fuel & time and reduce load 

on N-5 Highway. The industry 

experts and economists have 

wisely stressed the need of 

private investment for new 

motorways and dams in the 

country. They said no country 

could survive without water 

bu t c o u l d l i v e w it h o u t 

m o t o r w a y s , s o t h e 

construction of mega dam 

should be the top most priority 

of the government. 



Pakistan Day is celebrated to 

remind the Lahore Resolution on 

March 23 each year. The Lahore 

Resolution passed on 23 rd March 

1940 is considered a major 

milestone in the Muslim struggle 

for an independent Muslim state. 

This eventually led to the 

construction of Minar-e-Pakistan, 

a monument to commemorate the 

Lahore Resolution. This monument 

symbolizes a blossoming flower 

a n d r e f l e c t s t h e j o y o f 

independence and social wellbeing 

of the Pakistanis. 

After 75 years of resolution and 

68 years of independence many 

think tanks and scholars label 

Pakistan as a nation on collapse 

and a failed state. Pakistan ranked 

number 12 on a list of the “most 

failed states”, according to an 

annual report published by Foreign 

Policy magazine in 2011. The 

amount of corruption, at times 

misd irected lead ersh ip and 

forecasting of so-called intellectuals 

would have synergized for a normal 

nation to actually collapse but what 

keeps Pakistan from sinking is a 

question. This can only be 

answered when we start looking at 

those factors which are contributing 

to a progressive and forward 

looking Pakistan. There is no 

denying the fact that Pakistan 

seriously suffers from poverty, 

illiteracy, energy crisis, over 

p o p u l a t i o n , i n f l a t i o n a n d 

unemployment. Terrorism in 

Pakistan has become a major and 

highly destructive phenomenon in 

recent years. The whole world 

looks at Pakistan as a land of 

terrorists. In 1947, Pakistan had 30 

million people with per capita 

income of 100 dollars. Agriculture 


By Waheed Hamid 

accounted for almost 50% of 

economic output with hardly any 

manufacturing, as all industries 

were located in India. This newlyborn 

feeble Pakistan was unable to 

feed 30 million people and was 

dependent on imports from the 

USA. From there on, we have now 

grown to a population of 180 

million with few stories of success 

and lots of stories of failures. 

In this challenging environment, 

the negativity gets more projection 

and the true performers stop short 

of letting people know their part of 

story. This phenomenon keeps 

i n cr ea s in g d epr ession and 

despondency in the society. These 

are normal life cycles of any 

developing country. However, in 

the case of most of the nations, 

there are often good things to report 

and the intellectuals and researchers 

with support of media and 

government go out of way to 

promote these good things across 

the globe. The ridiculous amounts 

of shootings in the USA are 

balanced off by the success of 

Google, Microsoft and Apple. The 

financial dilemmas of Greece were 

lost in the marketing of the Greek 

Islands as a holiday destination of 

choice. The child slave industry of 

India is brushed under the carpet 

in favour of the nation’s growth in 

the g lobal software boo m. 

Likewise in Pakistan the stock 

market has begun to improve. The 

index has crossed 13000, compared 

t o ar o u n d 7 0 0 0 i n 2 0 0 9 . 

Dependence on food imports has 

been reduced. As per government 

figures we estimate our wheat crop 

to be 25 million tons and cotton 

crop will touch 13 million bales. 

The fights against terrorism show 

a visible improvement. Overall, the 

number of terror attacks in Pakistan 

rose from about 1,800 in 2008 to 

more than 1,900 attacks in 2009. 

Suicide bombings more than 

doubled between 2007 and 2009, 

jumping from 40 to 84. The suicide 

attacks not o nly paralyzed 

government functioning but also 

restricted move of law enforcing 

agencies and security forces in few 

major cities. However, due to 

government’s decision and push of 

Pakistan army improvement can be 

visibly felt today. 

The month of Pakistan Resolution 

demands to find the ones who show 

resolve to help Pakistan grow and 

its people flourish. There are 180 

million people in Pakistan, 65% are 

under the age of 25. The youth of 

Pakistan is its strength; it is like a 

sleeping giant. At universities like 

NED, Hamdard Karachi , Szabist, 



NUML, NUST and others the 

students are unbelievably intelligent. 

They spend their spare time 

developing Applications for Android 

and Apple. They are involved in 

cutting edge technology and no one 

in the world knows this. Everyone 

knows Abdul Sattar Edhi as a 

guardian for the poor but few know 

t hat he foun ded th e E dh i 

Foundation, with an initial sum of 

a mere five thousand rupees. Edhi 

began receiving donations, which 

allowed him to expand his services. 

The Edhi Foundation is the largest 

welfare organisation in Pakistan. 

Since its inception, the Edhi 

Foundation has rescued over 20,000 

abandoned infants, rehabilitated over 

50,000 orphans and has trained over 

40,000 nurses. It also runs over three 

hundred and thirty welfare centres 

in rural and urban Pakistan which 

o p era te as food k it chens, 

rehabilitation homes, shelters for 

abandoned women and children and 

clinics for the mentally handicapped. 

The story of resolve does not end 

at donations only. We have 

examples of private business 

entrepreneurs which look beyond 

financial profitability and count 

their contributions for Pakistan and 

its people in their overall earnings. 

FFC the leading fertilizer producers 

of Pakistan, the pioneers in wind 

power for Pakistan has a long 

history of community uplift. Their 

focus o f Co rpo rate Soci al 

Responsibility is education and 

health. FFC is nationally and 

internationally awarded as a highly 

professional, reliable, socially 

responsible and ethically correct 

company which looks after the 

interests of all stakeholders 

including the community. Last year 

FFC was awarded by SAFA a South 

Asian federation for transparency 

and corporate governance in South 

Asia bringing pride to Pakistan. 

FFC has been listed first amongst 

t he to p 2 5 com panies for 

consecutive fourth year by Karachi 

Stock Exchange. FFC is one of the 

highest tax payers of Pakistan. It 

paid Rs. 43 billion tax last year. 

Their significant but silent 

contributions at time of calamities 

usually go unnoticed. Showing 

resolve FFC has now decided to 

celebrate FFC day and launch its 

food preservation products under 

the name of FFF in the month of 

resolution. 

The resolve of few contributors to 

uphold the spirit of resolution of 

23rd March 1940 goes on selflessly. 

The gap at government and 

intellectual level however needs to 

be geared up to ensure such 

recognition and capitalize them to 

build an environment of hope 

showing a way forward to the 

Nation. 

(Courtesy Business Recorder) 

Police station dedicated 

for cracking down on gas theft inaugurated 

The first-ever Police Station 

especially dedicated for penalizing 

miscreants involved in natural gas 

theft was jointly inaugurated by 

Feroze Shah, DIG (West) and 

Khalid Rahman, MD, SSGC on 

April 10, 2015. The police station 

set up by SSGC was the result of 

the Company’s year long efforts 

aimed at curbing gas theft. Natural 

gas theft is one of the primary 

reasons behind Unaccounted for 

Gas (UFG), a phenomenon that has 

severely affected the Company’s 

financial bottom-line. The police 

station will be responsible for 

conducting raids against gas thieves, 

lodging FIRs, evidence collection 

and presenting challans to the 

courts. 

I n t h e i r 

remarks, MD, 

SSGC and DG 

( W e s t ) 

e x p r e s s e d 

their utmost 

commitment 

i n wo rking 

t ogeth er to 

control gas 

theft. While 

appreciating 

S S G C f o r 

taking a major 

step forward by setting up this 

police station, Sindh Police has 

gone a step ahead in showing its 

determination to expose the gas 

theft miscreants by regularly 

revealing their names and pictures 

Khalid Rahman, MD SSGC and Feroz Shah, DIG Police 

(West) jointly inaugurating the first ever Police Station set 

up by SSGC to penalize gas thieves. 

in the media. The Police Station has 

been set up due to the efforts and 

constant patronage of Ghulam 

Haider Jamali, IG Sindh, Feroze 

Shah, DIG (West) and Nauman 

Siddiqui, SSP Central. 



Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visits Saudi Arabia: 

Bilateral relations further strengthen 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif 

received a warm welcome on his 

arrival on a three-day official visit 

on the special invitation of Saudi 

King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al 

Saud. Leaving aside protocol 

norms and as a special gesture 

King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al 

Saud, accompanied by his entire 

cabinet received th e Prime 

Minister and his entourage at the 

King Khalid International Airport. 

Also present on the ocassion were 

C rown P rince M u q rin b in 

Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy 

Premier, Prince Faisal bin Bandar 

bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh 

Region, Prince Mohammed bin 

Naif bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Crown 

Prince, Second Deputy Premier 

and Minister of Interior, a number 

of princes, ministers, and senior 

officials. 

The Prime Minister was presented 

a guard of honour by a contingent 

of the Royal Saudi Armed Forces. 

A h i g h - l e v e l d e l e g a t i o n 

accompanying the Prime Minister, 

including Finance Minister Ishaq 

Dar, Punjab Chief Minister 

Shahbaz Sharif and his special 

assistants on National Affairs Irfan 

Siddiqui, and Foreign Affairs Syed 

Tariq Fatemi, was introduced to 

the Saudi King. 

Later, Prime Minister Nawaz 

Sharif discussed bilateral relations, 

regional and international issues 

with King of Saudi Arabia, Salman 

Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a 

meeting held at King's Palace. 

During the meeting, the two 

leaders emphasised the importance 

of Pakistan-Saudi relations and 

vowed to further strengthen mutual 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif being received by Saudi King Salman bin Abdul 

Aziz Al Saud at the King Khalid Airport recently. 

co-operation in various fields. PM 

Nawaz Sharif expressed his 

confidence that during the reign 

of King Salman bin Abdulaziz 

relations between the two countries 

w o u l d t o u ch n ew h ei gh t s . 

He said that Pakistan and Saudi 

Arabia are tied in bonds of shared 

faith and enjoy excellent relations 

s in ce t he in dependence o f 

Pakistan. Being the custodian of 

the two holy mosques the Saudi 

King has a special place in the 

heart of each Pakistani, he added. 

Nawaz said Pakistan would like 

to further strengthen ties with its 

brotherly Islamic country in all 

f i e l d s p a r t i c u l a r l y t r a d e , 

investment, energy, infrastructure 

development and several others. 

The Prime Minister thanked the 

Saudi leadership for providing 

valuable assistance to Pakistan in 

the time of need. Saudi Arabia has 

a special place among Muslim 

Ummah, he added. 

The King said that Saudi Arabia 

attaches great importance to its 

relations with Pakistan and would 

l i k e t o s e e t h e m f u r t h e r 

strengthened. He said Saudi Arabia 

would like Pakistan to prosper and 

develop. The King said that Saudi 

A rabia w ould be h ap py to 

strengthen its relations with 

Pakistan in all fields of possible 

co-operation. He particularly 

mentioned the need for increased 

interaction between the business 

communities of the two countries. 

Both the leaders also discussed 

matters relating to the region and 

a g re ed th a t t e rror i s m and 

extremism are common enemies 

and the two countries will continue 

to cooperate with each other in the 

field of security. The Prime 

Minister extended an invitation to 

the King to visit Pakistan which 

he accepted. 



Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif 

distributes top companies KSE awards 

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif giving Awards to the winners at KSE Top 25 Companies Awards Ceremony in 

Karachi on March 25, 2015. 

Addressing the KSE function, 

Prime Minister Nawaz said the 

Karachi operation had been 

launched after consultations with 

all political parties and it was not 

against any party, but criminal 

elements. 

He said his government’s main 

objective was to develop and put 

the country on the road to progress 

and prosperity. The government 

w ould utilise all availab le 

resources to bring improvement to 

every sector, he said, adding that 

policies being pursued by his 

government had started yielding 

positive results and were also being 

a p p r e c i a t e d b y v a r i o u s 

international institutions. 

Chairman Karachi Stock Exchange, Muneer Kamal Presenting a Momento 

to Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif at KSE Top 25 Companies 

Awards Ceremony in Karachi on March 25, 2015 

He said that in the past no attention 

had been given to resolve water 

and power crises, but now “we are 

pursuing long- and short-term 

policies and working on different 

p roject s to ge ne rat e m o re 

electricity from different sources, 

including solar and windmills, coal 

and LNG”. 

“The people of Karachi are satisfied 

with the operation,” he said. 

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif giving an Award to Gaith Pharaon at 

KSE Top 25 Companies Awards Ceremony in Karachi on March 25, 2015. 



Pakistan’s economy shows signs of recovery: ADB 

Pakistan’s economy is showing signs 

of recovery underpinned by falling 

global oil prices and the expected 

uptick in regional economic growth, 

the Asian Development Bank (ADB) 

said in a report released recently. 

The Asian Development Outlook 

2015, ADB’s flagship annual 

economic publication, forecasts 

Pakistan’s economic growth in 2015 

to modestly improve to 4.2 percent 

and to 4.5 percent in 2016, “subject 

to steady progress in macroeconomic 

and structural reforms, and stable 

security, political, and weather 

conditions.” In 2014, the country 

exuded renewed confidence with 

higher foreign exchange reserves, 

lower fiscal deficit and moderate 

inflation. However, gross domestic 

product (GDP) growth is still below 

the rate required 

t o abso rb a 

growing labor 

force, the report 

said. 

“ We e x p e c t 

P a k i s t a n ’ s 

e c o n o m y t o 

continue push 

forward with a 

modest growth 

t r a j e c t o r y . 

Pakistan needs to 

a t t r a c t 

investments to 

c r e a t e j o b s , 

reduce poverty 

a n d b o o s t 

economic growth, which to a great 

extent depends on continued stability, 

a better investment climate and 

enabling policy reforms,” said Werner 

Liepach, Country Director for ADB 

in Pakistan. “Ongoing efforts to make 

the power sector financially viable 

and reforms of public sector 

enterprises through restructuring 

and/or privatization are vital for 

macroeconomic gains.” 

Energy and security challenges 

continue to weigh on Pakistan’s 

business climate. A key risk to the 

fiscal performance stems from the 

rebuilding of circular debt, high 

security spending, and low revenue 

collection. 

The report said attracting higher 

private investment also requires 

policy measures to boost the export 

competitiveness of Pakistani 

manufacturers, accelerate financial 

sector development, increase public 

sector investment in infrastructure, 

and a competitive exchange rate. 

Boosting manufacturing is a key 

policy challenge highlighted in the 

A DO. Pakistan’s economic 

transformation has largely bypassed 

deepening and diversification of 

manufacturing as it evolved from 

agriculture to largely low productivity 

services. 

Enhancing industrial competitiveness 

will require the country to address 

policy distortions, lower trade 

barriers, create a business-friendly 

environment with a stable 

microeconomic framework, and 

improve infrastructure, access to 

finance, and human development, the 

report says. 

P a k i s t a n i s 

implementing an 

economic reform 

p r o g r a m 

underpinned by a 

$ 6 . 7 b i l l i o n 

Extended Fund 

F a c i l i t y 

arrangement with 

the International 

Monetary Fund, 

which recently 

completed its 6th 

review for release 

of the 7th tranche. 

“ T h e r o b u s t 

implementation 

of the reform program helped entice 

investors’ interest and has facilitated 

restoration of program lending from 

multilateral donors including the 

ADB. Pakistan can use fair winds to 

stay on course and continue to 

improve its overall macroeconomic 

performance,” Liepach said. 



New water reservoirs 

by Shakil Durrani Former Chairman of WAPDA 

Since the development of the Tarbela 

water reservoir with the capacity of 

nearly nine million acre feet (maf) in 

1976, only two new storages have 

been built in the country – the raised 

Mangla Dam additional storage of 

2.8 maf and the Gomal Dam reservoir 

of 0.9 maf, both completed in 2011. 

It is, therefore, heartening to note that 

the present government has 

sanctioned a huge sum of Rs55 billion 

for the land acquisition cost of the 

Diamer-Bhasha Dam. It is hoped that 

all remaining privately owned land 

measuring nearly 18000 acres will 

be acquired quickly and the GB 

administration would transfer the 

entire state-owned ‘ghair mumkin’ 

areas to Wapda at the earliest. For 

this to happen quickly the number of 

land acquisition collectors would need 

to be increased four-folds as has 

already been suggested. 

The population of the country has 

risen from 31 million 60 years back 

to nearly 190 million today. To this 

we add nearly four million hungry 

mouths annually. The per capita 

availability of water has decreased 

five times during this period and today 

barely amounts to a thousand cumex. 

And every day it shrinks further. 

There is no doubt that insufficient 

electric power has serious economic 

consequences but this shortage is a 

mere nuisance compared to the 

impending water crisis which could 

spell disaster within thirty years. 

Today there is a fine balance between 

the availability and need of water but 

what will happen tomorrow? We will 

experience not water scarcity but 

water starvation. People will likely 

perish of thirst and hunger when the 

population reaches 350 million. 

Since the World Bank has already 

undertaken to provide finances for 

the construction of the first phase of 

the Dasu Dam costing $6 billion, it 

is hoped this work will soon be 

started. Even though Dasu will not 

store any water, it will be able to 

generate about seven billion 

electricity units annually in five 

years’ time. 

The really important project, 

however, remains the Diamer-Bhasha 

Dam which is expected to store six 

million acre feet of water besides 

generating 19 billion energy units 

from an installed capacity of 4500 

megawatt. Fortunately there is 

complete national consensus on 

building the dam as exhibited in the 

Council of Common Interests 

decision in July 2010. 

It is time now to arrange the finances 

for the construction of the Diamer- 

Bhasha Dam. This should not be too 

serious a problem once the land is 

acquired through the government’s 

own resources. Pakistan should not 

depend any longer on the Asian 

Development Bank acting as the lead 

donor for the project despite all its 

previous commitments. Experience 

has shown that though the ADB’s 

country’s office in Pakistan remains 

enthusiastic for this project its head 

office in Manila has many 

reservations. 

Pakistan has already lost six years 

talking to the ADB for such 

financing. Each year’s delay adds 

nearly half a billion dollars to the 

cost of the project. What could have 

been built for 11 billion dollars earlier 

would cost 15 billion today. Hark the 

strategist’s advice in not enforcing 

an error! 

The best course now would be to 

request the Chinese government to 

provide a loan of $4 billion for the 

civil works with the contract 

awarded to a reputable Chinese 

com pany – b ut onl y after 

competitive bidding. Such a loan 

was earlier offered and this amount 

would take care of all civil works 

including the diversionary tunnels 

and the main dam. The electrical 

and mechanical equipment and the 

switchyard costing another $4 

billion could be bought from 

efficient European sources through 

suppliers’ credits. 

The remaining project costs such 

as the interest during construction, 

consultants’ supervision fees, 

environmental mitigation measures 

and development of model villages 

could be financed by private banks 

and other donors including the IDB 

and AID. Pakistan can ill afford 

further delays on Diamer-Bhasha 

and should proceed ahead with 

purpose. At present foreign 

consultants are undertaking the ‘due 

d i l i g e n c e ’ s t u d i e s o f t h e 

environment and the engineering 

designs of the dam which would 

take about 18 months to complete. 

There is a debate on whether a roller 

compact concrete design or a rockfilled 

concrete faced design would 

be more suitable for the site. Those 

best qualified can decide this. 

Between now and the completion 

of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam the 

provincial governments need to take 

cogent steps in conserving our water 

resources through pricing of water, 

discouraging the cultivation of high 

water-use crops like sugarcane and 

rice and preventing water pollution. 

(Courtesy: “The News”) 



1st Pakistan Mega Leather Show 

concludes successfully 

Pakistan leather industry has potentials for joint venture 

By Abdul Rafay Siddiqui 

1st Pakistan Mega Leather Show 

(PMLS) was concluded successfully 

with a positive note from 

government and organizers to hold 

event on regular basis. The fair 

received huge foreign and local 

response. During the inaugural 

speech, the Chairman, Pakistan 

Tanners Association (PTA) and 

Chairman, steering committee on 

PMLS, 2015, Mr. Muhammad 

Musaddiq has announced next dates 

for the show, in Lahore from 27-29 

January 2016. 

The 1st PMLS took place in 

International Expo Centre, Lahore 

from 6-8th March'2015, which was 

jointly organized by all allied 

stakeholders of Leather Sector of 

Pakistan such as Pakistan 

Tanners Association - (PTA), 

P a k i s t a n F o o t w e a r 

Manufacturers Association - 

(PFMA) in association with 

Leather Garments & Leather 

Gloves with the assistance/ 

patronage of Government of 

Pakistan, Trade Development 

Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). 

According to PTA, the outcome 

of the show was excellent / 

outstanding beyond the 

expectation as fully crowded 

during 3 days Show in Lahore 

w i th lo cal & forei gn 

buyers/customers to have 

collaboration/joint ventures 

between foreign companies & 

Pakistani companies. 

The show was inaugurated by the 

Federal Commerce Minister, Engineer 

Khurram Dastgir Khan, which was 

Federal Commerce Minister, Engineer 

Khurram Dastgir Khan addressing during 

1st PMLS. 

attended by the Chief Executive, 

TDAP, Mr. S.M. Muneer, Mr. 

Muhammad ldrees, President, FPCCI 

Chairman PTA Mr. Muhammad Musadiq addressing 

at 1st PMLS 

as well as large number of foreign and 

local guests. 

Earlier, Federal Commerce Minister, 

Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan 

congratulated PTA and Pakistan 

Footwear Manufacturers Association 

for organizing show in a befitting 

manner and assured government 

assistance to the leather industry of 

Pakistan, which is the second biggest 

export-oriented industry in the 

manufacturing sector and is third in 

its contribution towards the overall 

exports of Pakistan. 

He expressed the hope that such event 

would help exporters to establish 

relationship with international partners 

and explore new business avenues. 

He said Pakistan Export Development 

Fund had approved Rs.890 million for 

the leather sector. 

More than 300 exhibitors took 

part in the Show at Lahore in 

two different halls earmarked 

for the Show at the standard sizes 

of booth allocated, while some 

of the exhibitors have 

customized their booths in 

attractive and eye-catching mode 

in both halls of the Show. 

The turnover of local 

traders/buyers/businessmen was 

unprecedented average 3000 to 

4000 daily, while out of total 

exhibitors some of the Exhibitors 

have participated from abroad 

like Russia, Turkey, Spain, Italy, 

Germany, France, South Africa, 

Portugal, Taiwan, Japan, India, 

China directly or thru their sole agents 

in Pakistan. 

On the occasion, Trade Development 

Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) 



Chairman S.M. Muneer drew the 

Minister’s attention to the pending ST 

refunds claims worth Rs.110 billion 

of exporters. 

The government, he said, could not 

achieve the export target of $50bn by 

2018-19 unless exporters were 

facilitated. 

Brief features 

In Hall No. 2 all types of gloves and 

gloving leather were on display. 

Turkish Chemical Manufacturers 

displayed tanning chemicals for 

tannery. Renowned ALPA, Shafi Reso 

Chem, Stahl Chemical, Gulf Chemical 

participated with dyes and chemicals. 

A photo of dais - shows Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan Federal Commerce 

Minister flanked by Mr. S.M. Muneer Chief Executive Officer TDAP on his left 

and Mr. Muhammad Musadiq Chairman PTA on his right and other guests. 

Hide and Skin importers and dealers 

showed their products. Russian 

Leather also participated. Tanning 

machine, accessories by local and 

foreign were on display. 

Large and latest variety of leather bags, 

leather goods, belts was also displayed. 

Leather Institute from Gujranwala and 

National Institute of Leather 

Technology from Karachi, Fashion 

Design Institute also participated 

which designs leather garments and 

shoes for local and foreign use. 

Tanneries from different cities of 

Pakistan, from Karachi, Lahore, 

Multan, Sialkot, Kasur, Sahiwal 

participated and provided an 

opportunity for foreign buyers to visit 

one place of leather show 

easier to meet the manufacturers of 

different cities at one place. 

In Hall No. 1 all types of shoes, 

Chappal, Syndals, manufactured by 

renowned brand like from Stylo, 

EPCT, Feroze Footwear, Firhaj 

Footwear (Pvt) Ltd., Fircos Shoes (Pvt) 

Ltd. Falk Shoes International. Shoemaking 

Machines, accessories and 

components were also displayed for 

local shoe manufacturers. 

Indian pavilion was organized in 

footwear section which has 

demonstrated their shoe material for 

shoe manufacturers. 

Industrial sewing machines were also 

on display for leather garments, shoes 

and leather goods. 

On the sidelines, 

a group dialogue 

b e t w e e n 

P ak is ta n & 

Indian was held. 

M r . M . 

R a f e e q u e 

A h m e d , 

C h a i r m a n , 

C o u n c i l o f 

Leather Exports, India who led the 

Indian delegation has found most 

productive diaglogue between the two 

neighbor countries wherein a large 

gathering having senior members of 

PTA exchanged views, statistics & 

techniques. The aim for holding the 

dialogue was to have more close 

relations with Indian Leather industry 

to cater to the needs each of them. 

Group Dialogue on South Asia future hub for leather and 

footwear-Mr M. Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman Indian Council 

of Leather Exports is seen addressing. 



Firhaj Footwear: A quality shoe maker & exporter 

Firhaj Footwear (Pvt.) Ltd. was 

established and incorporated in 

1989. Since then it is engaged in 

designing, manufacturing and 

marketing of shoes in the local and 

export market. Firhaj Footwear has 

the manufacturing capacity of over 

2 million pairs per annum. The plant 

is based on latest footwear 

technology and is equipped with 

most modern fully automatic Italian 

footwear machinery. Since its 

inception Firhaj’smotto has been 

quality and customer satisfaction. 

Exceptional care is taken in the 

selection of raw material, 

components and finished leather. 

F i n i s h e d l e a t h e r f o r t h e 

manufacturing of shoes is selected 

under the supervision of highly 

qualified and experienced leather 

and tanning technologists. Designing 

is supervised by highly qualified 

international designer from Italy. 

Firhaj is also one of the major 

exporters of footwear in the country. 

The company is exporting shoes to 

all major European brands like El 

Corte Inglus, Next, Clarks, U.S. 

Polo, Wrangler and many others. 

We are a socially compliant 

company and are abiding to all 

national and international rules and 

regulations. 

Firhaj is the only approved vendor 

of Wolverine World Wide in 

Pakistan and has the manufacturing 

and marketing license for Hush 

Puppies and CATERPILLAR and 

distribution license of MERRELL, 

GEOX and Clarks footwear in 

Pakistan, which it retails through its 

60 company operated outlets plus a 

d eal er s h ip n e tw o r k o f 9 0 

independent retailers and top selling 

stores in the country. Further Hush 

Puppies is also sold on designated 

displays at 150 ServisShoes stores. 

The company has won numerous 

awards for Growth in Business and 

Outstanding Performance with 

regards to Hush Puppies, we were 

also awarded Best Business Growth 

in Asia Pacific for Caterpillar. 

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Chief Executive, TDAP inaugurated 

Pakistan Pavilion at Hong Kong 

The formal inaugural ceremony of 

Pakistan Pavilion in APLF 2015, 

Hong Kong was jointly inaugurated 

by Mr. S.M. Muneer, Chief 

Executive, Trade Development 

Authority of Pakistan and Mr. 

Ghufran Memon, Consul General, 

Consulate General of Pakistan in 

Hong Kong which was also attended 

by the Chairman, Pakistan Tanners 

Association (PTA), Mr. Muhammad 

Musaddiq. 

About 70 Pakistani exporters had 

participated in APLF’2015 at Hong 

Kong who were dealing in producing 

of Finished Leather of Cow, Buffalo, 

Sheep skins, Leather Garments, 

Leather Footwear, Leather Gloves & 

Leather Products/made-ups. 

The Chairman, PTA,Mr. Muhammad 

Mr. S.M. Muneer, Chief Executive/Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and 

Mr. Ghufran Memon, Consul General of Pakistan in HK inaugurating the Pakistan 

Pavilion in APLF’2015 

Musaddiq also shared that with the 

help of Consulate General of Pakistan 

in Hong Kong the share of Pakistan’s 

exports of Leather has already been 

increased by 29.34% in Hong Kong 

for the period of July-June 2012-2013 

as compared to corresponding period 

of previous year. 

EXPORT OF LEATHER AND LEATHER PRODUCTS FROM PAKISTAN 

DURING JULY-DECEMBER’2013 VIS-A-VIS JULY-DECEMBER’2014 

VALUE = (U.S. Dollars in Thousand) 

COMMODITIES 

LEATHER 

LEATHER APPAREL & CLOTHING 

LEATHER GLOVES 

LEATHER FOOTWEAR 

OTHER LEATHER MANUFACTURES 

2013 

2014 

UNIT QTY VALUE QTY VALUE 

‘000’ SQM 

AUP/Sq.M 

‘000’ DOZ 

AUP/Pcs 

‘000’ DOZ 

AUP/Pair 

‘000’ Pairs 

AUP/Pair 

‘000’ KGS 

AUP/Kg 

JULY-DECEMBER 

13,869 

722 

4,174 

3,142 

624 

251,570 

18.14 

217,548 

25.11 

104,538 

4.17 

44,815 

14.26 

7,483 

11.99 

JULY-DECEMBER 

11,848 

517 

3,246 

3,778 

248,222 

20.95 

201,964 

32.55 

106,099 

5.45 

56,044 

14.83 

7,816 

% 

CHANGE 

-1.33% 

15.50% 

-7.16% 

29.65% 

1.49% 

30.51% 

25.06% 

4.00% 

4.45% 

TOTAL : 

625,954 

620,145 

-0.93% 

Source Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 



SRC successfully 

participates in 1st PMLS 

SRC is a member of Siddiq Shafi 

Group. With over 60 years of 

industrial experience. They have 

focused on delivering innovative and 

technology based solutions while 

maintaining its commitment to 

honesty & consistency. SRC leading 

portfolio of specialty chemicals 

delivers a broad range of technology 

based products and solutions to clients 

for Leather, Shoe, Textile, Adhesive, 

Water Treatment and Fruit 

Preservation. They have extensive 

portfolio of over 350 products. 

A view of seminar organized by SRC in 1st PMLS. 

SRC was the platinum sponsor for 

the Pakistan Mega Leather Show. 

SRC showcased some of new and 

exciting products, such as upgrading 

skills for leather to save your cost and 

earn more profit, Autolux 601, 

Splendida P/29, Valvet Shield, leather 

tanning machinery and leather lab 

drums. SRC and SGS organized a 

seminar on REACH & Restricted 

Substances on second day of PMLS 

15. SRC organized a seminar with the 

collaboration of PIFD on the occasion 

of Pakistan Mega Leather Show 2015. 

The topic was turning leather into a 

fashion statement. A huge number of 

Leather industrialists and experts 

attended both the seminars. 



11th International Safety & Security Exhibition 

& Conference in Islamabad 

“The risk of disaster happening can be reduced 

with better preparation,” said Chairman, NDMA 

Pakistan leading event management 

company-Pegasus Consultancy 

(PVT.) Ltd, has successfully 

organised the 11th International 

Safety & Security Exhibition and 

Conference at Pak-China Friendship 

Centre, Islamabad from 10-12 

March 2015. It was inaugurated by 

Maj Gen. Asghar Nawaz, 

Chairman, National Disaster 

Management Authority (NDMA). 

Maj Gen. Asghar Nawaz, Chairman 

NDMA, in his address of welcome 

said, “Being a disaster managers 

we cannot prevent the disasters but 

the risk of happening can be 

reduced with better preparation in 

response to its effects. The country 

is in security crises and this 

exhibition is a timely effort”. 

Chairman NDMA, appreciated the 

role of organiser, Pegasus 

Consultancy by bringing together 

250 companies from 31 different 

countries. 

Dr. Rizwan Naseer, Director General, 

Punjab Emergency Services & 

Emergency Services Academy, guest 

of honor, appreciated the role of 

Rescue 1122. ”They have managed 

thousands of fire incidents 

successfully, but we still need more 

professionalism in the safety and 

security industry”, he added. “Such 

international exhibitions bring an 

interactive platform for the exchange 

of industry knowledge”, he further 

said. 

Mr. Anwar A. Ghauri General 

Secretary Fire & Security Association 

of Pakistan and guest of honor at the 

Major General Asghar Nawaz 

Aamer Khanzada MD of Pegasus 

exhibition appreciated the role of 

Pegasus consultancy in organizing the 

event and bring local & international 

exhibitors third time in Islamabad. ,” 

we have witnessed lots of latest 

development of technology in fire , 

security and surveillance industries. 

In his welcome address, Mr. Aamer 

Khanzada Managing Director, Pegasus 

Consultancy, extended his pride for 

11 years of success of Safe Secure 

Pakistan. The safety and security 

market holds a significant potential as 

several security projects are underway 

by law enforcement and private sector 

organizations. To strength these 

organizations, a U$$ 1.65 billion 

import of security and safety 

equipment has been witnessed in the 

last year. ” Safe Secure Pakistan aimed 

to address the Safety and Security 

needs of the region by bringing 

together major International and Local 

Exhibitors to display latest Technology 

and Advancement of Homeland 

Security, Workplace Safety, Fire 

Fighting, Mobility, Rescue and 

Emergency”, he further stated. 

In concurrence with the exhibition, 

there was a Safe Secure Pakistan 

Conference which commenced on 11th 

March 2015 at Pak China Friendship 

Centre Islamabad. This international 

conference was based on the theme 

“Redefining Security with Latest 

Technologies”. More than 250 

companies from 31 different countries, 

including, Australia, Austria, Canada, 

China, Czech Republic, Denmark, 

Finland, France, Germany, Greece 

Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, IRAN 

KOREA, Malaysia, Norway, JAPAN 

Pakistan, Portugal, RUSSIA, 

Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, 

Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, 

UAE, UK, and USA, have displayed 

their Brands at the Safe Secure 

International exhibition. 

The products displayed in the 

exhibition include, intelligence 

equipment, firefighting equipment, 

industrial safety equipment, alarm 

s y s t e m s , a c c e s s c o n t r o l 

systems,surveillance cameras, thermal 

Imaging cameras, fire resistant door, 

industrial safety shoes, fire protection 

paints and security soft wares. Later, 

Chairman, NDMA, along with the 

guests of honors and dignitaries visited 

various stalls after formally 

inaugurating the show. 



Exhibitors received good orders 

at 11th International Safety and Security Exhibition 

Foreign exhibitors 

s e e l o t s o f 

potential for their 

products and 

technology in the 

g r o w i n g 

requirement for 

S a f e t y a n d 

Security market in 

Pakistan, saying 

that they had 

received good 

business on the 

2nd Day, at Safe 

Secure Pakistan-2015, exhibition 

which was held at Pak-China 

Convention Centre, Islamabad. 

In concurrence with the exhibition, 

an International Safe Secure, 

conference was also held at Pak-China 

Convention Centre,featuring the 

theme, “Redefining Security with 

Latest Technologies”. 

The 5th edition of the conference had 

an exclusive session on security of 

aviation industry along with other 

A view of stall at Safe Secure Pakistan-2015, Exhibition held at Pak-China 

Convention Centre. 

sessions which included, building safer 

cities through unified communication 

systems, technological advancement 

for safer cities, Pakistan in the recent 

fire & industrial safety environment: 

Problems & Challenges. 

Eminent speakers had presented their 

Papers from both local and 

international organizations like Civil 

Aviation Authority, Pakistan 

International Airlines, Emergency 

Services Punjab, Security 2000, Tajs 

West Coast, Havelsan Inc. Turkey, 

P r o l i n e 

I n f o r m a t i o n 

Systems-Turkey, 

M o t o r o l a 

Solutions-UAE, 

SchrackSeconet 

A g - A u s t r i a , 

I n s t i t u t e o f 

B u s i n e s s 

Resilience-UAE 

a n d B u t l e r 

E n g i n e e r i n g 

UAE. 

Mr. Furkan Celebi, international sales 

& investment director from Turkey, 

representing, Proline Information 

Systems,sees lots of potential in the 

local market for the technology his 

company is offering.“We are here in 

the exhibition for the first time, we 

have introduced safe city concept in 

P a k i s t a n , o u r c o m p a n y i s 

offering,safe city parameters, gate 

securities”, he added. “Pakistan is 

now in the current security situation 

seems to be a big market for us”, 

he observed. 

Safe and Secure Exhibition concludes successfully 

The three-days 11th International Safe 

Secure Pakistan-2015, exhibition 

concluded at Pak-China Convention 

Centre, Islamabad, on a very 

successful note. 

The positive presence of foreign 

exhibitors at the exhibition view 

Pakistan as a potential market for this 

sector as the local market has become 

quality conscious and are investing in 

latest safety, security and surveillance 

technology, they are glad over positive 

response during the exhibition. 

Visitor Profile Includes: ex-Prime 

Minister of Pakistan, Syed Yousuf 

Raza Gilani, DG DEPO, (Defense 

Export Promotion Organization), DIG 

Motorway Police, Additional I G 

Police Azad Jammu Kashmir, CEO 

Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, 

Deputy Commandant FC, DIG 

Logistics, KPK. 

Diplomats from Russia, France, 

Bangladesh, Italy, Denmark, Australia, 

& Ukraine, have also visited the 

exhibition and showed keen interest 

in latest displayed technology and 

appreciated the Third sequel of Safe 

Secure Pakistan-2015. 

Trade Visitors took interest in the 

products being siplayed at Safe 

Secure Pakistan-2015, Exhibition 

held at Pak-China Convention 

Centre. 



Qaim Ali Shah, Sindh Chief Minister 

inaugurates 12th My Karachi 

The 12th sequel of My Karachi 

Oasis of Harmony exhibition of 

the Karachi Chamber of Commerce 

and Industry (KCCI) concluded on 

12th April, 2015 

at Karachi Expo 

Center in which 

local and foreign 

e x h i b i t o r s 

showcased their 

p ro du cts and 

services. 

The three-day 

long exhibition 

p r o v i d e d a 

perfect platform 

for business-tob 

us in ess and 

b u s i n e s s - t o - 

consumer meetings, besides 

providing recreational facilities to 

K a r a c h i i t e s w h o h a d 

overwhelmingly participated in 

this glittering event. 

The inauguration ceremony was 

presided over by the Chief 

Minister Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali 

Shah. The session was attended 

by a large number of business 

tycoons, diplomats and a large 

number of representatives of 

media for the coverage of the 

event. 

Zubair Motiwala, a leading 

business figure of the city, on 

this occasio n in formed the 

audience that for the first time, 

they had receive so much support 

from international countries, as 19 

countries had shown interest in 

participating in this exhibition. 

Responding to the burning issue 

of scarcity of water raised by the 

b u s i n e s s c o m m u n i t y, C h i e f 

Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah 

said, “We have initiated K-4 mega 

water supply project; 50% of its 

Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah is cutting ribbon to inaugurate My 

Karachi Oasis of Harmony. 

cost have to be provided by the 

federal government and the rest by 

Siraj Kassam Teli, 

Former President KCCI 

t h e S i n d h g o v e r n m e n t . 

Government of Sindh has provided 

the money and we have started 

working on it but we still expect 

from the federal government to 

provide due finance in order to 

complete the project within time 

as the project is pending since last 

20 to 25 years”. 

TRADE CHRONICLE - March~April 2015 - Page # 21 

Highlighting the journey of My 

Karachi exhibition, Chairman 

Businessmen Group & Former 

President KCCI, Siraj Kassam Teli 

re ca l l ed t h at 

d u r i n g h i s 

western media. 

t e n u r e a s 

President KCCI 

in 2004, he felt 

there was a need 

to change the 

n e g a t i v e 

perception about 

K arach i cit y, 

which mainly 

emerged due to 

n e g a t i v e 

projection by 

t h e m e d i a , 

particularly the 

K C C I h a s b e e n r e g u l a r l y 

organizing this exhibition without 

any commercial objective but with 

a vision to promote the positive 

image of Karachi and the tag line 

of ‘Made in Pakistan’ worldwide, 

he added. 

President KCCI Iftikhar Ahmed 

Vohra said that My Karachi 

exhibition 2015 had provided an 

excellent chance to explore true 

trade potential of Karachi in 

particular and Pakistan in general, 

which was home to natural beauty, 

traditions and cultural heritages. 

Chairman Special Committee for 

M y K a r a c h i E x h i b i t i o n , 

Muhammad Idrees stated that 

more than 300 stalls showcasing 

Pakistani products and services 

had been established at this year’s 

exhibition which was spread over 

all six halls of the Expo Center.


TDAP to hold international exhibition Aalishan Pakistan in UK 

In order to get maximum benefits from 

the GSP Plus status, Trade 

Development Authority of Pakistan 

(TDAP) has planned to hold an 

international exhibition in UK to attract 

European buyers. S.M. Muneer, Chief 

Executive (CE) TDAP during his visit 

at Karachi Press Club recently said 

that "Aalishan Pakistan" exhibition 

will be held in June this year in London 

and Prime Minister Mian Nawaz 

Sharif has been requested for 

inauguration of this mega event. 

"This exhibition will help Pakistani 

exporters to get maximum benefits 

from GSP plus status, granted by EU 

for ten years", he added. Talking the 

major hurdles in the economic revival, 

he said that uncertain economic 

policies, poor law and order situation, 

energy crisis and political uncertainty 

are directly hurting the industrial and 

economic growth. However, he 

appreciated the federal government's 

efforts to end energy crisis and said 

that govt has initiated several new 

power projects, which will help to 

enhance domestic industrial 

productivity. 

Muneer said that delay in refund 

payment is hampering Pakistan's 

exports. The country can enhance its 

exports by 4 to 5 billion dollar in next 

couple of years by settling pending 

refund claims, he added. He said that 

TDAP has been making efforts for 

timely release of refund claims and 

hopefully this issue will be resolved 

soon. Replying, a question he said that 

Karachi operation is a good initiative 

by the federal and provincial govt and 

all law enforcement agencies are 

making efforts to restore peace in the 

economic hub of the country. With 

these efforts target killing has been 

reduced in the city, while kidnapping 

S.M. Muneer 

and ransom cases have also been 

declined significantly. Talking about 

the Expo Pakistan exhibition, CE said 

that recently TDAP has successfully 

organised the Expo Pakistan at a lower 

cost compared to previous year. 

Overall some Rs 150 million has been 

spent on this event as against Rs 250 

million last year, while this year some 

790 foreign delegates attended this 

mega event and placed orders worth 

$1.3 billion. "Despite worsening law 

and order situation and internal security 

issues, foreigners are ready to invest 

and establish business relations with 

Pakistani exporters and traders", he 

added. 

On the occasion, Rahim Jano senior 

vice chairman the Federation Pakistan 

Chamber of Commerce and Industry 

(FPCCI) said that despite decline in 

the rice prices worldwide, Pakistan's 

rice exports will maintain its last year 

level. Presently, Pakistani exporters 

are facing a tough competition as India 

and Vietnam have also cut their rice 

prices to capture the international 

market. 

Zubiar Tufail vice president FPCCI 

said that declining world oil prices has 

given an opportunity to reduce our 

import bill and to overcome the 

energy crisis. He said that overseas 

Pakistanis are contributing in the 

economic development by sending 

billions of dollar remittances 

annually. "Overseas Pakistanis have 

sent some $11 billion during this 

fiscal year and expected to send some 

$8 billion in remaining five months. 

It has been estimated that overall 

remittances will reach about $19 

billion by the end of this fiscal year 

compared to $15 billion last fiscal 

year", he added. Tufail said that still 

billions of dollars are being remitted 

through illegal channels and govt can 

divert these remittances toward legal 

channels by offering a better exchange 

rate to overseas Pakistan. 

Khalid Tawab former vice president 

FPCCI said that govt should include 

business community and federation's 

proposals in the next budget. He said 

that govt can bring the economy on 

right track by implementing FPCCI 

budget suggestions. 

Ubaidullah Qadri leading gem and 

jewellery exporter said that Pakistan 

has billions of dollars mines of 

precious stones in the northern areas; 

however it is being exported without 

value addition. "Even India's gem 

export is higher than Pakistan's total 

exports. 

Gulzar Feroz spokesman of UBG said 

that after successful experience of 

TDAP, govt should depute reputed 

businessmen in other loss making 

institutions to improve their 

performance. On the occasion 

President KPC Fazil Jamili, Secretary 

A H Khanzada, vice president Nawab 

Qureshi, member governing body 

Sajjad Abbasi, Kafiluddin Fezain, 

Siddique Chaudary and others were 

also present. 



PROMOTION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STRESSED 

Ms. Shamim Kazmi addressing on “Natural Resources–rich country and rapid advancement towards progress and 

development”, under the presiding over by Justice (Rtd) Haziqul Khairi at a local hall. Mrs. Sadia Rashid, President, 

Hamdard Foundation Pakistan and Mahdi Masud, former ambassador of Pakistan are also present on this occasion. 

Speakers at the meeting of Shura 

Hamdard Karachi chapter urged the 

government to promote education 

of science and technology as without 

the help of science & technology the 

country would not be able to explore 

and utilize its tremendous natural 

resources. 

The meeting was held on March 12, 

2015 on the theme: “Natural 

Resources–rich country and rapid 

advancement towards progress and 

development”, presided over by 

Justice (Rtd) Haziqul Khairi at a 

local hall. Speaking on the occasion, 

Justice (Rtd) Haziqul Kairi said, the 

biggest human resource in the world 

is human brain and by using this 

Japanese have made tremendous 

progress though they do not have 

any mentionable natural resources 

even then they achieved the status 

of most developed nation in the 

world. ‘They have a monopoly on 

manufacturing and selling of motor 

cars in the world to such an extent 

that American roads are now filled 

with Japanese cars and as a result of 

this development the American car 

manufacturing industry has gone 

down, he added. 

Mrs. Sadia Rashid, President, 

Hamdard Foundation Pakistan said 

that according to a saying of Hakim 

Said “Pakistan was bestowed upon 

with all those bounties and natural 

resources, mentioned in Holy Quran 

by Allah Almighty”. But utilization 

of all these bounties and natural 

resources could not be turned to 

account effectively without applying 

k no wledg e of science and 

technology. So it was imperative that 

education of science and technical 

education should be encouraged and 

introduced from primary classes and 

onwards, she asserted. 

Mahdi Masud, former ambassador 

of Pakistan said that human character 

was more important than brain, 

because without good character 

human brain could not be positively 

used. National character plus chain 

of command were responsible for 

national growth and prosperity.Prof. 

Mohammed Rafi was of the view 

that ours was an Islamic society even 

then tell a lie, corruption, deception, 

dishonesty and extremism were on 

high pedestal in the society though 

Islam strictly had prohibited all these 

things, because of our negligence 

that we did not follow true Islam. 

Wrong use of natural resources was 

also a negation of God’s bounties, 

he maintained. Commodore (Rtd) 

S aeed An war M al ik wh ile 

highlighting the natural resources of 

Pakistan said that we didn’t have the 

skills to develop raw material so that 

our crude marble was being sold on 

20 fold prices after polishing it in 

Italy and that’s what was being 

happened to our other minerals and 

natural products. Our biggest natural 

resource was our strategic position, 

but we didn’t take full advantage out 

of this yet, he contended.Dr. Shahid 

Hassan Siddiqui, an economist said 

that God given us natural resources 

with great generosity. But no 

governments had ever made longterm 

plans to explore and utilize 

them, because of lack of political 

will. International monetary 

institutions had also discouraged us 

in this regard, he observed.Haq 

Nawaz Akhtar, former Chairman, 

Pakistan Steel Mills said that a good 

natural resource of Kalabagh Dam 

was lost on the alter of provincial 

polarization, resulting in heavy loss 

of waters coming down from floods 

and rains. This water also spoiled 

our fertile lands by increasing 

salinity and getting ground water’s 

level up, he added. In spite of making 

motorways it was more useful to 

draw a railways’ network around the 

country, he suggested.Ms. Shamim 

Kazmi, M. Abul Fazal and Anwar 

Aziz Jakartawalla also spoke. 



PICT realizes 

note-worthy progress 

in 2014 

Pakistan International Container 

Terminal Limited (PICT) has 

realized note-worthy progress during 

the year 2014 in every function of 

the organization. Capt. Haleem A 

Siddiqui Chairman of PICT has said 

“By the grace of ALLAH and with 

t h e 

comb in ed 

effort and 

capability 

o f o u r 

employees, 

t h e 

C o m p a n y 

handled the 

h i g h e s t 

volume of 

6 9 9 , 8 5 2 

T E U s 

( T w e n t y 

F o o t 

Equivalent 

Container 

Units) in 

P I C T ’ s 

history”. 

He stated 

that despite 

t h e 

competitive economic and trade 

conditions globally and within the 

country, the efforts were made by 

the Management of PICT for 

achieving growth in the containers 

handled together with sustained 

revenues and profits of the Company 

in the financial year 2014. 

PICT endeavors to achieve more 

business volumes and ensure 

business enhancement, keeping in 

view the same priority to add 

Shipping & Ports 

shareholder value by reinvesting 

part of our earnings in the 

Company to support our expansion 

plans in order to maintain and 

capture a significant share in 

growth in Pakistan’s container 

volume. 

The Directors of the company have 

recommended final cash dividend 

@35% (Rs. 

3 . 5 / - p e r 

o r d i n a r y 

share) for 

t h e y e a r 

e n d e d 

D ecem b er 

31, 2014. 

It said 2014 

was another 

year of good 

performance 

for PICT, 

thanks to a 

consistent 

strategy, a 

s t a b l e 

m a n a g e - 

ment team, 

supportive 

c l i e n t s , 

cu sto mers 

and shareholders. 

The 

Board remains confident in the 

continuous success of the Company 

in years ahead. 

Future Plans 

Consistent with the historical 

achievements, the Company 

endeavors to maximize efficiencies 

and improve its services to its 

customers through streamlined 

systems and to achieve higher 

standards of productivity. 

Janmohammed 

nominated chairman 

PSC of FPCCI 

Abdul Rasheed Janmohammed has 

been nominated as Chairman, 

Pakistan Shippers’ Council (PSC) of 

FPCCI for the year 2015 by the 

President of Federation of Pakistan 

Chambers of Commerce & Industry 

(FPCCI) Mian Adrees. 

PQA invites bids 

for new boats 

Port Qasim Authority (PQA) has 

issued tender for procurement of four 

(04) new boats (RHIB type) for 

security / patrolling & escorting of 

LNG vessels in PQA channel / 

approaches. PQA invited offer for 

supply of 04 Nos. new boats (RHIB 

Type) from experienced Firms / 

Suppliers / Ship Building Yards which 

are technically and financially sound. 

The offered boats should possess 

characteristics and other details as 

per tender document. Security Boat 

complying the specifications given 

in this tender, should be capable for 

sustained / uninterrupted operation 

at 35 to 40 knots on both voyage from 

service jetty to PQA outer channel, 

having overall length of 8 to 10 

meters, Beam 2.5 ~ 3 meters, newly 

built, RHIB type, of proven design, 

robust structure. 



Gwadar Port: GPA 

Chairman highlights 

snags in project 

China expresses interest 

in KPT projects 

A high-level Chinese expert group 

during their visit to Karachi Port 

recently expressed keen interest in 

future projects, especially in the 

c o n s t r u c t i o n o f e l e v a t e d 

expressway to provide connectivity 

to Pakistan Deep Water Container 

P o r t 

( P D W C P ) . 

Headed by Hu 

D on gsh eng , 

D e p u t y 

D i r e c t o r - 

G e n e ra l o f 

C h i n a 

Development 

Bank, the 21- 

member delegation, comprised 

members from the Chinese 

ministry of foreign affairs, 

transport, agriculture, industry, 

information technology, planning 

and research. 

Karachi Port Trust (KPT) chairman 

Vice Admiral (retd) Shafqat Jawed 

and Ports and Shipping Director- 

General Abdul Malik Ghauri 

informed the delegates about 

KPT’s role and contribution in 

country’s trade and commerce. 

The KPT chairman stated that the 

Karachi Port would be capable of 

handling bigger post-Panamax 

mother ships by the end of this 

year when the first phase of deepwater 

container port is expected to 

be completed. 

He said that the new port would 

open up avenues for trade and 

commerce of 

the country 

and pave way 

for the port to 

b e c o m e 

transshipment 

h ub of th e 

region. 

The chairman 

said that the 

decision to develop deep-water 

container port was timely as the 

Karachi Port was strategically 

located and would meet the needs 

of growing Asian economies. 

Responding to some of the question 

raised by the visiting Chinese 

delegation members, the KPT 

chairman said the elev ated 

expressway project besides giving 

connectivity to PDWCP would also 

address the traffic forecasts and 

congestion at the port. 

The Gwadar Port Authority 

(GPA) has admitted that the port 

is enjoying free zone status, with 

huge incentives, including a 100 

percent tax exemption on import 

a n d e x p o r t , b u t fa i l ed i n 

attracting investment. This was 

stated by GPA Chairman Dostain 

Jamaldini while briefing the 

National Assembly Standing 

C o m m i t t e e o n P o r t s a n d 

Shipping, which met with Syed 

Ghulam Mustafa Shah in the 

chair recently. 

T he M ini st ry o f P orts and 

Shipping as well as GPA also 

admitted that Gwadar Port would 

not be fully operational shortly 

due to absence of basic utilities, 

allied infrastructure and rail 

connectivity. 

T h e m in is try of Po rts a nd 

S h i p p i n g a n d i t s a t t a ch ed 

departments proposed 17 projects 

u n d e r t h e P u b l i c S e c t o r 

Development Program (PSDP) in 

the fiscal year 2015-16 worth Rs 

17.225 billion including an 

equivalent of Rs 14.6 billion 

foreign exchange component and 

Rs 2.52 billion local component. 

The ECNEC has approved the 

construction of the Eastbay 

E x p r e s s w a y, B r e a k w a t e r s , 

Capital Dredging of Berthing 

Area & Channel for additional 

Terminal, Pak-China Technical 

& Vocational Institute at Gwadar 

and establishment of CPEC PMU 

in GPA/Ministry of Ports and 

Shipping. 



Arif Elahi assumes charge 

of PNSC Chairman 

Arif Elahi, 

a n e x p e - 

r i e n c e d 

C i v i l 

Servant, has 

assumed the 

c h a rge o f 

P a k i s t a n 

N a t i o n a l 

Arif Elahi 

S h i p p i n g 

Corporation 

(PNSC) Chairman here recently. 

T h e s e asoned b u rea u cr at 's 

appointment finalised as Chairman 

Siddiqui Memmon transferred to 

Sindh government. 

A former secretary at provincial 

Labour department, Elahi's last 

assignment was chairman of 

E x p o r t P r o c e s s i n g Z o n e s 

Authority (EPZA). 

Abbas Raza appointed 

NTC Chairman 

Abbas Raza has been appointed 

C h a i r m a n N a t i o n a l Ta r i f f 

C o mm is s i o n (NTC) o n t h e 

r e c o m m e n - d a t i o n o f t h e 

selection committee headed by 

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, said 

a p r e s s r e l e a s e r e c e n t l y. 

M r Raza h as a wi de -ra ng e 

experience in tariffs and federal 

taxes, tariff policy and protection 

analysis, GATT/WTO and trade 

remedy laws, matters pertaining 

to Pakistan’s trade and industry, 

applied governance and anticorruption 

initiatives. 

People & Events 

Siddique Memon assumes 

as Sindh Chief Secretary 

Mohammad 

S i d d i q u e 

M e m o n 

assumed his 

r e s p o n s - 

ibility as the 

new Chief 

Secretary of 

S i n d h 

recently. 

Muhammad 

Siddique Memon 

Muhammad Siddique Memon is the 

54th Chief Secretary of Sindh, since 

1936, the year when Sindh was 

separated from Bombay presidency 

and also the 38th to assume the charge 

since abolition of one unit in the 

country on July 1, 1970. 

Hameed Haroon 

re-elected APNS president 

The Annual 

Meeting of 

the APN S 

G e n e r a l 

Council held 

on March 31, 

2 0 1 5 a t 

APNS House, 

Karachi, has 

Hameed Haroon 

elected the 

E x e c u t i v e 

Committee for the year 2015-16 which 

unanimously elected Hameed Haroon 

(Daily Dawn) as President, Rameeza 

Majid Nizami (Daily Nawa-i-Waqt) 

as Senior Vice President, Mumtaz A. 

Tahir (Daily Aftab) as Vice President, 

Sarmad Ali (Daily Jang) as Secretary 

General, Rahmat Ali Raazi (Weekly 

AZM/Daily Taaqat) as Joint Secretary 

and Humayon Tariq (Daily Business 

Report) as Finance Secretary of 

Society. 

Khalid A Mirza appointed 

as LSE BoDs Chairman 

Khalid A Mirza 

Former chief of the Competition 

Commission of Pakistan (CCP) 

and Securities and Exchange 

Commission of Pakistan (SECP) 

K h a l i d A M i rz a h as b e en 

appointed as Chairman of the 

Lahore Stock Exchange Board of 

Directors. 

Moin Fudda appointed 

ISE board chairman 

The Board 

of Directors 

o f 

I s l a m a b a d 

S t o c k 

E x c h a n g e 

has unanim 

o u s l y 

e l e c t e d 

Moin Fudda 

M o i n M 

F u d d a , 

nominee Director of the Securities 

and Exchange Commission of 

Pakistan, as its new Chairman. 

Moin M Fudda is the Country 

D i r e c t o r o f C e n t r e f o r 

International Private Enterprise, 

engaged in Privat e Sect o r 

Development and Market Oriented 

Reforms in Pakistan since 2005. 



PM Nawaz extends DG 

IB’s term by one year 

Prime Minister Mian Mohammad 

Nawaz Sharif has extended Director 

General of Intelligence Bureau Aftab 

Sultan’s term in office by one year, 

media reported. Following the 

extension, the contract of Aftab Sultan 

will now end on April 2, 2016. The 

senior Police officer Sultan was 

appointed as DG IB in June 2013. 

This was second time that he was 

hired for same post. Previously, Sultan 

had served as DG of the Intelligence 

Bureau in 2011. 

Sindh police get first 

female spokesperson 

For the first time, the Sindh police 

has appointed a female spokesperson 

for the department. According to an 

official notification issued recently, 

Sindh IGP Ghulam Hyder Jamali 

approved the appointment of SP Erum 

Awan as the force’s spokesperson. 

Muhammad Zubair 

elected President KTBA 

The Karachi Tax Bar Association 

(KTBA) has elected Muhammad 

Zubair as president for the term 2015- 

16. The office-bearers for the term 

include Vice President Mohammad 

Rehan Siddiqui, General Secretary 

Muhammad Aleem, Joint Secretary, 

Arshad Ali Siddiqui, and Librarian 

Syed Zafar Ahmed. 

“ M i a n R a z a 

Rabbani, Member, 

Senate of Pakistan, 

has been elected as 

Chairman of the 

Senate on 12th 

March, 2015,” says 

a notification of the 

Senate Secretariat. 

A Profile: 

Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani 

His brief profile 

follows: Senator 

M i a n R a z a 

Rabbani, 60, is a senior politician from 

Sindh who earned fame for 

constitutional reform and social 

progress. A committed leader of the 

Pakistan People’s Party, he entered 

politics in 1981 as an activist of 

People’s Student Federation and rose 

to the position of Additional Secretary- 

General of PPP and Parliamentary 

Maulana Abdul 

Ghafoor Haideri 

was elected as 

Deputy Chairman 

of the Senate of 

Pakistan with 

heavy mandate on 

12th March 2015. 

He was born on 

June 1957 to an 

eminent tribal 

personality, Muhammad Azam Lehri, 

of sub tehsil Gazag district Qalaat. He 

completed his religious education in 

1979 from Tando Allayar and thus 

passed various examinations from the 

Examination Board of Wafaq-ul- 

Madaris Al-Arabia with outstanding 

marks. In 1974 he vehemently 

participated in the Tehrik-e-Khatm-e- 

Nabowat (Movement for the Finality 

of Prophethood) and was consequently 

Mian Raza Rabbani 

Chairman Senate 

Leader in the 

Senate. Chairman 

R a b b a n i w a s 

a w a r d e d t h e 

highest civil award, 

Nishan-e-Imtiaz, 

f o r h i s 

p ar l i a m e n t a ry 

s e r v i c e s . I n 

addition, he was 

awarded the Bacha 

Khan Award for 

the Defence of 

Provincial Rights. The Human Rights 

Society of Pakistan selected him for 

the 2006 award for his invaluable 

services for human rights. Senator 

Rabbani has authored numerous books 

including “A Biography of Pakistani 

Federalism” and “LFO: A Fraud on 

the Constitution.” He contributed to 

the book, “Blind Justice.” 

A Profile: 

Deputy Chairman Senate Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri 

detained. In 1981 

h e f o r m a l l y 

l a u n ch e d h i s 

political career 

from the platform 

of JUI and at the 

s a m e t i m e 

remained engaged 

as a teacher at 

different religious 

s e m i n a r i e s 

(Madaris). From 2008 onward he has 

been a regular member of the Senate 

of Pakistan. During this period he 

remained Chief Whip (Coalition 

government) and leader of the 

opposition in Senate for two years. In 

2013, he was appointed Minister of 

State for Postal Services by the PML- 

N government and took marvelous 

measures for the revival of the Postal 

Department. 



Riazuddin assumes charge 

of SBP Deputy Governor 

President administers oath to two federal ministers 

President Mamnoon Hussain administering the oath of offices to Senators Pervaiz 

Rashid and Mushahidullah Khan as federal ministers at the Presidency 

Riaz Riazuddin 

Riaz Riazuddin has assumed the 

charge of the office of Deputy 

Governor (DG), State Bank of Pakistan 

(SBP). The Federal Government 

notified appointment of Riazuddin as 

DG, SBP on March 28, 2015 for a 

period of three years from the date he 

assumes charge. 

Prior to assuming charge as DG, Riaz 

has been serving as Chief Economic 

Advisor, State Bank and leading its 

monetary policy group of departments. 

Riazuddin brings around 20 years of 

central banking experience to his new 

assignments. Before joining SBP in 

1994, he has served at Applied 

Economics Research Centre (AERC), 

University of Karachi as Assistant 

Professor/ Research Economist. He 

holds Master's degrees from the 

University of Karachi and Boston 

University, USA in Statistics, 

Economics and Economic Policy. 

He has been representing SBP at 

various forums such as Chairman, 

Working Group on Monetary Policy. 

Riaz Riazuddin has presented many 

scholarly papers at various conferences 

and seminars and his work has been 

published in various journals at the 

national and international levels. 

President Mamnoon Hussain 

administered the oath of offices to 

senators Pervez Rashid and Mushahid 

Ullah Khan as federal ministers in a 

ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr 

recently. 

Later, both the newly-sworn in 

T h e f e d e r a l 

government has 

appointed Syed 

Wamiq Bokhari as 

managing director 

and chief executive 

officer of Pakistan 

Petroleum Limited 

with effect from 

March 16, 2015, in 

place of Secretary 

Petroleum Arshad 

Mirza, who held additional charge 

since July 8, 2014. 

A seasoned oil and gas professional, 

Bokhari has over 30 years of 

management experience mainly with 

three international majors: Kuwait 

Foreign Petroleum Exploration 

Company (KUFPEC), a subsidiary of 

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Eni 

SpA and Atlantic Richfield Company, 

USA. 

Bokhari’s professional engagements 

have entailed assignments in several 

ministers Pervez Rashid and Mushahid 

Ullah Khan called on President 

Mamnoon Hussain. The President 

congratulated both the senators on 

becoming federal ministers and hoped 

that they would continue to effectively 

discharging their responsibilities for 

betterment of the common man. 

Syed Wamiq Bokhari appointed MD PPL 

countries spanning 

five continents, the 

last as KUFPEC’s 

Regional Manager 

overseeing the 

Canada and South 

East Asia region. 

H e h a s a 

Syed Wamiq Bokhari Bachelor’s and 

M a s t e r ’s i n 

P e t r o l e u m 

Engineering from University of Texas, 

USA and has attended numerous 

executive management programmes 

at prestigious institutes. 

Bokhari has served as chairman of 

Pakistan Association of Petroleum 

Geoscientists and been a member of 

Society of Petroleum Engineers and 

Pakistan Petroleum Exploration and 

Production Companies Association in 

addition to being on the advisory board 

of the Petroleum Engineering 

Department at NED University of 

Engineering and Technology, Karachi. 



Automobile News 

Auto industry should offer more choices 

President Mamnoon Hussain has 

called upon the automotive industry 

to offer more choices and quality 

products to consumers at affordable 

prices. He was addressing the 

inaugural session of the Pakistan Auto 

Show 2015 organised by Pakistan 

Association of Automobile Parts and 

Accessories Manufacturers (Paapam). 

‘We cannot afford to ignore the fact 

that the automotive industry has 

emerged to be a role model of 

development and growth for other 

sectors, the president said. However, 

there is a need to see why consumers 

are resorting to imported used 

vehicles and why can‘t local 

manufacturers give the consumers an 

affordable quality car. 

‘These are important questions which 

the industry should ponder over while 

moving forward,‘ he said, while 

referring to the case when 

President Mamnoon Hussain Presents Memento to Organizer of Pakistan Auto 

Show 2015 at Expo Centre Karachi on 6-3-2015 

manufacturers of locally-produced 

motorcycles were compelled to bring 

down their cost due to easy availability 

of low-cost Chinese bikes. He further 

sought increased indigenisation of 

critical value-added parts, saying this 

was the only way to reduce prices. 

The president said the government is 

working to provide required support 

to the auto industry through adequate 

policy measures and the industry 

should respond by overcoming the 

challenges to offer choice and value 

for money to the consumer. 

I am confident that the new auto 

policy would open up an environment 

for increased competition by 

attracting new investors in this 

potential sector, he said. 

Auto policy to boost investment: Dastagir 

The government will soon announce 

automobile policy which will create 

a balance in the interests of all 

stakeholders, said Commerce 

Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan. 

“The new policy will focus on 

attracting more investment and 

generating maximum jobs,” said 

the minister while addressing the 

members of automobile industry 

after visiting various stalls at the 

three-day Pakistan Auto Show at 

the Expo Centre. 

The minister also witnessed signing 

of two MoUs between Paapam and 

Engr. Khurram Dastgir khan 

Federal Minister for Commerce 

Iraq’s Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry for promoting Pakistani auto 

parts. Besides, he distributed export 

trophy awards among Paapam 

members. 

Paapam Chairman Siddique Mistri 

apprised the minister of issues faced 

by the auto industry mainly increase 

in duties on steel imports. 

He also called for allocation of funds 

from EDF for setting up auto parts 

testing centres, and for establishing 

display centres to showcase their 

products. 

Khurram assured that the chairman of 

Paapam would be placed as member 

of the board of Export Development 

Fund (EDF) for 2016-17. 



Banking & Insurance News 

AGM held: NBP highlights yearly performance to shareholders 

National Bank of Pakistan held its 66th 

Annual General Meeting at a local 

hotel recenly. The meeting was well 

attended by the shareholders. The 

Chairman NBP Muneer Kamal and 

President NBP Syed Ahmed Iqbal 

Ashraf also attended the meeting. The 

bank's performance during the year 

was highlighted to the shareholders. It 

was stated that the Board of Directors 

in their meeting held on February 26, 

2015 have proposed final cash dividend 

of Rs 5.5 per share (55 percent) for the 

year ended December 31, 2014 which 

translates into 86 percent dividend 

payout of the bank's distributable profit 

for the year 2014 (after statutory reserve 

allocation) and is the highest in the 

banking industry. This high payout 

shows bank's strong capital position 

with continuous focus on increasing 

stakeholder value by capitalising on 

opportunities to drive strong 

performance for the organisation and 

even higher payouts to the shareholders 

in the years ahead. 

The shareholders approved dividend 

payout of 55% cash dividend (Rs 5.50 

per share) as recommended in the 

Board of Directors of the bank. The 

shareholders were informed that the 

bank's profit before tax increased by 

211 percent in 2014 and stood at Rs 

22 billion. Profit after tax increased by 

173 percent from Rs 5.5 billion in year 

2013 to Rs 15 billion in year 2014. 

Earnings per share were Rs 7.06 in 

year 2014 as against Rs 2.59 of last 

year, an increase of 173 percent. 

Net interest income increased from Rs 

38.2 billion in 2013 to Rs 44.2 billion 

in 2014 reflecting an increase of 16 

percent due to balance sheet reprofiling 

and growth. Non-interest 

income increased by 23 percent from 

Rs 25.6 billion in 2013 to Rs 31.5 

billion in 2014. Total deposits increased 

by 12 percent from Rs 1,101 billion at 

December 31, 2013 to Rs 1, 234 billion 

at December 31, 2014. The current and 

savings account (CASA) ratio was 72 

percent at December 2014 compared 

to 69 percent at December 31, 2013 

which helped in reducing the cost of 

funds and in improving profitability 

of the bank. Net NPL ratio (after 

provisions) improved to 3.62 percent 

from 4.21 percent at December 31, 

2013. 

Customized ICT Solutions Ufone signs MoU with NBP for provision of services 

The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) 

and Pak Telecom Mobile Ltd (Ufone) 

have signed a Memorandum of 

Understanding (MoU) for provision 

of services pertaining to Customized 

ICT Solutions recently. 

According to the agreement the Ufone 

will provide extension of SMS 

notification portal for the NBP with 

customization for different pull and 

push notification. The Ufone will 

handle the SMS and mobile application 

for banking related initiatives. It will 

also assist the NBP for contact center 

services, which includes provision of 

a CMS (Complaint Management 

System) and Call Center related 

services. The Ufone will collaborate 

on MFS Solutions with the NBP for 

providing the solution of salary 

accounts and transfers, bill payments, 

advance salary loans, loans repayments 

and renewals. The Ufone will also 

assist the NBP in pension disbursement 

and brand promotion through various 

co-branding initiatives e.g. Debit Card. 

NBP representatives Mudassir H Khan, 

SEVP & Group Chief Commercial & 

Retail Banking Group (C&RBG), S H 

Irtiza Kazmi, EVP & Coordinator 

PMYBL, C&RBG, and Nageen Rizvi, 

VP & Unit Head Marketing & 

Promotions PMYBL, C&RBG 

witnessed the event. From the Ufone 

side PTML Jamal Eddine Trache 

(Chief Officer - Contracts & 

Procurement, Yousef Al Zaabi (Chief 

Officer HR, Admin & Security), and 

also acting CEO Ahmad Kamal (Chief 

Officer - Customer Operations), 

Naveed Khalid Butt (Chief Officer - 

Government & Regulatory Affairs), 

Atif Ishaque (General Manager 

Customer Operations) and Taimur Faiz 

Cheema (General Manager Marketing) 

were present. 



Deal signed with SLIC, 

GBA NBP to act as 

distributor for 

Bancassurance products 

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) 

has inked a tripartite agreement with 

the State Life Insurance Corporation 

of Pakistan (SLIC) and GBA 

Services (Private) Limited for 

Bancassurance products and 

services. 

The agreement was inked for the 

distribution of insurance products 

through NBP branches and SLIC 

will be insurance risk taker and 

provide products and services. 

Mudassir H Khan, SEVP Group 

Chief C&RBG NBP and Gian 

Ch and K ewalramani, H ead 

B a n c a s s u r a n c e S L I C a n d 

Muhammad Naseem Rawther COO 

GBA signed the agreement on 

b ehalf o f th eir respecti v e 

organisations. 

Talking to media, NBP President 

Syed Ahmed Iqbal Ashraf said in 

order to facilitate our existing 

customers and broaden our 

customer base, the bank will act as 

a distributor for Bancassurance 

products through NBP's existing 

branch network and introduce a 

cross sales/cross sell culture 

throughout the organisation. 

Nargis Ghaloo, Chairperson State 

Life Insurance Corporation of 

Pakistan thanked the NBP President 

for selecting State Life as a business 

partner saying that the target market 

of Bancassurance products and 

services are spread across all lines 

of bank business. 

It pays to advertise in 

Trade Chronicle 

‘Home Remittance 

second largest source 

of foreign exchange 

after export’ 

In Pakistan’s economy home 

remittance is the second largest 

source of foreign exchange after 

export. Banks especially NBP is 

do ing a marv ello us job in 

channelizing the remittances of 

overseas Pakistani workers through 

regular banking channels thus 

avoiding the reliance on Hawala 

and Hundi, this was stated by 

K h al id Bi n Sh aee n G roup 

C h i e f / S E V P G l o b a l H o m e 

Remittance in a session arranged 

b y N B P R e g i o n a l O f f i c e 

Rawalpindi. 

Khalid Bin Shaeen said “Today 

NBP has over 35 leading overseas 

remitting partners extending NBP’s 

“Foree Remittance Services” to 

remitters in their respective 

countries. The added convenience 

is aimed to facilitate our people 

and discourage the use of illegal 

Hawala/Hundi channels. Further, 

NBP has established the first 

dedicated, extensive and efficient 

compliant handling system for 

home remittances to address 

queries/grievances of remitters 

/beneficiaries. Home remittance is 

the money sent by expats to their 

loved ones at home for family 

maintenance. Home Remittances 

from overseas Pakistanis play an 

extraordinary role in the economic 

development of Pakistan and it is 

far more important than official 

d evel o p ment assi s t ance o r 

borrowing from international 

lenders.” Khalid Bin Shaheen also 

visited Rawalpindi Region during 

a n a d v o c ac y c am p a i g n o f 

increasing the volume of home 

remittance through banking 

channel. 

HBL signs agreement 

with Jubilee 

General Insurance 

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) has 

signed an agreement with Jubilee 

General Insurance Company Limited 

(JGI) to launch HBL Cash Mehfooz 

for HBL customers. 

HBL Cash Mehfooz provides 

protection benefits on the occurrence 

of burglaries or mugging attacks after 

making cash withdrawals via ATM 

or over the counter. In addition, it 

provides coverage for other valuables, 

medical expenses and accidental 

death nationwide. 

The agreement was signed by Faiq 

Sadiq Head Payment Services, HBL 

and Tahir Ahmed Managing Director 

& CEO, JGI. The event was also 

attended by Nauman Dar President 

& CEO, HBL along with senior 

management of both corporations. 

Speaking at the occasion, Faiq Sadiq 

commented, “Considering the 

security issues that the general public 

has to face on a daily basis, HBL 

aims to provide its customers with a 

complete sense of security while 

withdrawing cash over HBL branch 

counters or ATMs. 

HBL Cash Mehfooz fulfills this 

requ iremen t by offering a 

comprehensive low cost and 

convenient coverage to HBL 

customers.” 

Tahir Ahmed added, “General 

Insurance has the power to enhance 

individual lives. Therefore, we use 

various distribution channels powered 

by technology, to reach every 

Pakistani. We also place a strong 

focus on training and development 

of our partners, to ensure transparent 

transactions and proper product 

utilization by our customers.” 



MCB posts Rs24.32 

billion profit in 2014 

The MCB Bank Limited earned a 

profit-after-tax of Rs24.325 billion 

and the profit-before-tax of Rs36.729 

billion with an increase of 13 percent 

and 14 percent in 2014, respectively, 

a bank statement said. 

This was revealed at the 67th Annual 

General Meeting of the shareholders 

of MCB Bank Limited held recently 

under the Chairmanship of Aftab 

Ahmed Khan, to transact the ordinary 

and special businesses of the bank. 

MCB Bank Limited President 

informed the members that despite the 

challenging operating environment, 

the bank delivered exceptional 

performance and growth in financial 

year 2014. This was primarily 

contributed by 15 percent increase in 

net markup income and 20 percent 

increase in non-markup income. Net 

markup income of the bank was 

reported at Rs43.512 billion, whereas 

non-markup income increased to 

Rs13.435 billion. The increase in nonmarkup 

income was due to the 

compensation received by the bank 

on delayed tax refunds amounting to 

Rs1.1 billion, income from dealing in 

foreign currencies of Rs527 million 

and fee, commission and brokerage 

income of Rs484 million. 

It was highlighted that the asset base 

of MCB was reported at Rs934.631 

billion signalling a healthy growth of 

15 percent over December 2013. 

Analysis of the asset mix witnessed a 

14 percent increase in investments to 

Rs511.137 billion and 20 percent 

increase in gross advances to 

Rs322.318 billion. The quality of asset 

showed considerable improvement as 

a result of the non-performing loans 

of the bank contracting by 5.8 percent 

to Rs21.908 billion. 

JS Bank posts profit 

JS Bank Limited (JSBL) announced 

its 2014 result posting a profit after 

tax of PKR 1,060.039 million in CY14 

compared to PKR 351.283 million in 

CY13. 

Board of Directors of JS Bank in its 

meeting held on February 24, 2015 

approved the audited Financial 

Statements for the year ended 

December 31, 2014. 

Bank’s Earning Per Share (EPS) 

increased to PKR 0.99 for the year 

2014 from PKR 0.33 in CY13. Bank’s 

Net Interest Income (NII) stood at PKR 

3,854.040 million and non-markup 

income at PKR 2,590.161 million. JS 

Bank posted a profit before tax of PKR 

1,608.225 million in CY14 compared 

to PKR 501.371 million in CY13. 

The balance sheet registered a YoY 

growth of 56.7% to reach PKR 176,717 

million as at December 31, 2014. 

Deposits increased to PKR 108,740 

million as compared to PKR 80,916 

million in the previous year, a YoY 

growth of 34.4%. Gross advances grew 

to PKR 58,765 million as compared 

to PKR 35,164 million in the previous 

year, a YoY growth of 67.1%. 

Given that the bank has shown such 

robust performance in what has been 

a difficult time for the local economy, 

is testament to the prudent management 

and financial discipline at the bank. JS 

Bank is one of the fastest growing 

commercial banks in Pakistan, it has 

a large network of 238 branches across 

122 cities of Pakistan with plans to 

expand its outreach with more branches 

Bank Alfalah earns Rs 

8.514bn profit before tax 

Bank Alfalah delivered strong 

financial results with profit before 

taxation of Rs 8.514 billion for the 

year ended 31 December 2014, as 

compared to Rs 6.807 billion earned 

in 2013, registering an increase of 

25 percent over the previous year. 

Earnings per share increased by 20 

percent and were reported at Rs 

4.09 as against Rs 3.41 in 2013. 

During the 23rd Annual General 

Meeting (AGM) of the Bank held, 

the shareholders were informed that 

the Bank’s deposits stood at Rs 606 

billion at year end, witnessing a 

growth of 15.3 percent over the year 

2013. Gross advances increased 

from Rs 274 billion to Rs 305 

billion at end of December 2014, 

reflecting a year on year growth of 

11.3 percent. 

The Bank’s Islamic Banking 

business continues to serve as one 

of the largest Islamic Banking 

window operations in Pakistan and 

generated a profit before tax of Rs 

1.142 billion for the year 2014. 

Speaking at the occasion, Atif 

Bajwa, President and CEO of Bank 

Alfalah, said “The Bank has 

d e l i v e r ed s o u n d fin an ci a l 

performance along with strong and 

consistent long-term shareholder 

returns in a tough business 

environment. 

Understanding our customers’ 

needs, developing innovative 

financial solutions and building 

long-term relationships are the 

foundations of our commitment to 

our customers. We are optimistic 

that we will continue to create 

further value in the lives of the 

people we touch.” 



HabibMetro Bank posts Rs7.31 bn profit before tax 

Habib Metropolitan Bank posted a 

profit-before tax of Rs. 7.31 billion 

for the year 2014, registering a yearon-year 

profitability boost of 43 

percent. The Bank achieved broad 

based organic growth, with its 

network expansion and resource 

mobilization driving growth across 

its business segments. 

The Bank's Profit-After-Tax 

amounted to Rs 4.93 billion on 

December 31, 2014. Resultantly, 

HabibMetro's EPS increased by 

39.47 percent and marked at Rs. 

4.70 at the end of 2014. 

HabibMetro Bank's total assets 

augmented by 27.6 percent 

compared to December 2013, and 

in doing so amounted to Rs. 397.3 

billion on December 31, 2014. 

Meanwhile, the Bank's deposit base 

exhibited an increase of over 29 

percent - a growth that surpassed 

the industry's deposit growth 

curve-and exceeded Rs. 320 

billion. 

The Bank enhanced its 

outreach by 26 new branches 

and 13 new cities in the year 

2014; this expansion increased 

its branch network to 240 

branches in 62 cities across the 

country. 

In a Board Meeting held on 

F e b r u a r y 2 6 , 2 0 1 5 , 

HabibMetro Bank's Board of 

Directors recommended distribution 

of 25 percent dividend for the year 

2014. 

President & CEO of the leading 

trade finance bank, Sirajuddin Aziz, 

commented, "We strive to meet 

existing and future financial 

requirements of our customers 

through unparalleled and reliable 

service, while continuously 

Sirajuddin Aziz 

improving our product offerings. 

These are the parameters that we 

gauge our performance upon. In the 

year 2014, we diversified our 

portfolio, expanded our product 

spectrum and enhanced our service 

quality for customers; hence, the 

Management is happy to share that 

the year has proven lucrative and 

the Bank has done well." 

Meezan Bank earns Rs4.57bn profit-after-tax 

The 19th Annual General Meeting 

(AGM) of Meezan Bank Limited 

was held on March 27, 2015 at its 

Head Office – Meezan House, 

Karachi. The Chairman Audit 

Committee, Mr. Mohammad Abdul 

Aleem chaired the AGM, which was 

attended by Meezan Bank’s 

management team, external auditors 

and shareholders of Meezan Bank. 

Shareholders were informed that 

during the year, Meezan Bank’s 

performance remained outstanding 

in all areas of its business activities. 

A significant achievement during 

the year had been the successful 

acquisition of the Pakistan 

operations of HSBC Bank, one of 

the leading retail banks in the world. 

The Bank earned Profit-after-tax of 

Rs. 4.570 billion in 2014 compared 

to Rs. 3.957 billion recorded last 

year. Earnings per share (EPS) for 

the year increased to Rs. 4.56 (2013: 

Rs.3.95). Deposits increased by 

31% to Rs. 380 billion in 2014, 

while its financing portfolio grew 

by 38% to Rs. 176 billion. 

Furthermore, the non-funded 

business, which primarily includes 

Imports and Exports, crossed Rs. 

375 billion. 

The shareholders acknowledged the 

impressive performance of the Bank 

and approved the annual audited 

accounts for the year ended Dec 31, 

2014. 

The shareholders also approved the 

12.5% final cash dividend i.e. Rs. 

1.25 per share. This is in addition 

to the earlier interim cash dividend 

of 15% paid in August which brings 

the total payout of the Bank for the 

year to Rs. 2.75 per share (i.e. 

27.50%). This declaration maintains 

the Bank’s unbroken payout record 

since its date of listing on the Stock 

Exchange. 



Warid Telecom appoints 

Chief Strategy Officer 

W a r i d 

Tel ecom, 

announced 

t h e 

a p p o i n t - 

ment of its 

new Chief 

S t r a t e g y 

Farid Ahmad 

O f f i c e r , 

Mr. Farid 

Ahmad. He will be primarily 

responsible for overall Corporate 

Strategy, Pricing & Segments, 

Business Intelligence & Analysis, 

International Business and New 

Business Revenue Streams/Projects. 

Farid has experience spanning over 

20 years in telecom, IT and fertilizer 

companies. He was associated with 

Mobilink for over 10 years and his 

last assignment with Mobilink was 

as VP Business Analysis & 

Planning. 

Ufone launches online 

shopping portal 

Ufone has launched its own online 

shopping portal, UMall, marking its 

entry into Pakistan’s e-commerce 

sphere, a statement said recently. 

The portal offers a wide range of 

products with various payment 

methods to choose from, it said. This 

is a major initiative taken by Ufone 

towards completing the Mobile 

Ecosystem; following its footfall in 

the domains of voice, data, financial 

services and mobile governance, it 

said. This initiative has been seen by 

the industry experts as a major move 

by a telecom operator, which will 

have a long-term impact on the 

positive growth of e-commerce 

industry in Pakistan. 

Telecommunication News 

Zong applauds Anusha Rahman, Ismail Shah 

D e p u t y D i r e c t o r 

Regulatory Affairs, 

Zong Nauman Khalid 

congratulated Anusha 

Rahman, State Minister 

for IT & Telecom and 

D r. Ismail Shah, 

Chairman PTA for 

winning 'Government 

Mobile Excellence 

Award.' 

Anusha Rahman has 

recently been awarded 

t h e ' G o v e r n m e n t 

Mobile Excellence 

Awards 2015' at the 

M o b i l e W o r l d 

Congress 2015 of the 

GSMA in Barcelona, 

Spain. This award is an 

acknowledgement of 

the successful spectrum 

auction of the 3G & 4G 

services in the 850 MHz, 1800 MHz 

and 2100 MHz bands. 

"Being the only 3G + 4G operator 

in the country, Zong recognizes this 

Imports of cellphones increased by 

7.68 per cent to $465.658 million 

during the first eight months (July- 

Feb) of 2014-15 as compared to 

$432.433m in the same period last 

year. In February, the imports increased 

by 28.61pc to $73.161m against 

$56.882m in Feb 2014, and by 62.82pc 

when compared to $44.933m in Jan 

2015, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics 

data showed recently. 

The overall telecom imports also 

increased by 15.43pc to $961.965m 

during the period under review as 

Cellphone imports increased 

TRADE CHRONICLE - March~April 2015 - Page # 35 

Minister of State for IT Anusha Rahman receiving 

the GSMA Spectrum for Mobile Broadband Award 

2015 at the Mobile World Congress. 

as a remarkable achievement for the 

country as it is progressing towards 

greater heights in the mobile 

spectrum world", said Nauman 

Khalid. 

compared to $833.399m in July-Feb, 

2013-14. 

In February, the telecom imports 

increased by 7.59pc to $115.454m 

against $107.311m in Feb 2014, and 

by 21.05pc when compared to 

$95.378m in Jan 2015.


PTCL brings landline service 

on mobile phones through 

SmartLink App 

Pakistan Telecommunication Company 

Limited (PTCL), the largest ICT 

services provider in the country, now 

brings for the first time in Pakistan, 

mobility for landline customers’ 

through its SmartLink application. 

The application empowers PTCL 

customers to dial and receive landline 

calls through mobile phones on-thego, 

anywhere and anytime. The internet 

based application extends the crystal 

clear landline calling experience to 

mobile phones in a simple, smart way 

at the same affordable landline tariffs. 

Customers also get high quality and 

seamless video calling options 

regardless of location. 

Mougis Ahmead Khan, Regional Director Central Region, Zong handing over 

keys of Mehran car to Sunny Arsalan, the winner of Retailer Activation Compaign 

in Kamonki. 

The application, available at no 

subscription fee or monthly charges, 

comes equipped with various additional 

features including instant messaging, 

access to Smartphone’s contact 

directory for calls and PIA flight 

schedule inquiry for on-the-go 

travellers. SmartLink also enables users 

to watch 150 PTCL Smart TV 

Channels. 

Pakistan’s first and largest mobile money service Easypaisa received the award 

for opening up highest number of mobile accounts in 2014 during the 8th mobile 

commerce conference held recently. Picture shows: (L to R) Nadeem Hussain, 

President & CEO, Tameer Microfinance Bank and Yahya Khan, Head of Easypaisa 

receiving the award from Ashraf Mahmood Wathra, Governor, State Bank of 

Pakistan. 

Free internet for mobile customers 

Telenor and Mobilink customers in 

Pakistan will be able to enjoy a day 

of free internet with the popular Opera 

Mini browser, a statement said 

recently. 

The free internet access, sponsored by 

Microsoft Lumia, is available 

exclusively to basic Java phone users 

and is aimed at encouraging more 

Pakistanis to go online and experience 

the power of the internet, it said. 

To take advantage of the free internet 

offer, Telenor and Mobilink customers 

just need to open the Opera Mini 

browser on their phones and click the 

Free Internet icon, it said, adding, this 

will open a page from which users can 

activate 10MB of free internet access 

that can be used over a period of 12 

hours. 

Mobile users who do not have the 

Opera Mini browser installed on their 

phones can visit m.opera.com to 

download the free app, it said. 

A large number of Pakistanis can 

access the web only via their mobile 

phones. At the same time, many are 

hesitant to use mobile internet because 

of the perceived high cost of data, it 

said. 

The possibility to access the internet 

for free, for a limited time, is a good 

incentive for users to experience the 

web for the first time, it added. 



Travel World 

New Aviation Policy unveils 

Speaking on the occasion of the 

launch of National Aviation Policy 

2015 recently, Prime Minister 

Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has said 

that the aviation policy was one of 

the most modern and finest policies 

that had been formulated after 

consultation with all stakeholders. 

Prime Minister Sharif said the 

working of the PIA must be improved 

to make it a modern and dynamic 

airline and directed the finance 

ministry to release the required funds. 

He said a new airport was needed in 

Lahore to cope with the 

growing needs adding that as per 

original layout, the airport was 

supposed to be much bigger but it 

was squeezed by the martial law 

Shujaat Azeem 

Special Assistant to PM on Aviation 

regime. 

He said the PIA used to be one 

of the finest airlines in the 1970s 

but it deteriorated and recalled 

his air travels through PIA 

saying that it was no lesser than 

other foreign airlines in those 

days. 

He said 26 percent of the PIA 

shares would be privatised 

whether someone liked it or not; 

however it would be in the 

interest of the airline as well as 

its staffers. 

H e a l s o 

directed CAA to 

launch air service to and 

from the destinations like Chitral and 

others in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 

Gilgit Baltistan and Balochistan 

where road travel is much difficult. 

Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar said 

the aviation policy reflected the 

Prime Minister's vision and termed 

it robust and investment friendly 

policy that also provides a future 

road-map to uplift the aviation sector. 

He said the new policy revolves 

around taxing the revenue not the 

core investment and it would be 

implemented on fast track. He said 

the country was going to join the 

world's emerging markets. 

He also quoted a Bloomberg report 

showing positive trends in the 

country's economy like high 

remittances, surging stock, top 

Prime Minister of Pakistan 

Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif 

performing currencies hoping that 

the country has a bright future. 

Special Assistant to PM Shujaat 

Azeem highlighted the salient 

features of the policy and said the 

region had the biggest East-West air 

traffic of around 600 flights. 

He said the air traffic was the 

fundamental of the national economy 

and hoped that the policy would help 

turn around the aviation sector. 

The policy envisages promotion and 

regulation of civil aviation activities, 

and to develop an infrastructure for 

safe, secure, efficient, adequate as 

well as economically and properly 

coordinated air transport service in 

the country. The policy states that in 

principle, tax relief would be 

extended on investment whereas 

taxes would be levied on revenue 

earning. Fiscal incentives on aviation 

sector will be announced through 

budget 2015-16 after approval of 

Parliament. Tax relief incentives shall 

be applicable with effect from July 

01, 2015. 



Polani nominated 

FPCCI body chief 

Muhammad Yahya Polani 

Yahya Polani, MD Polani Group, and 

Chairman IATA Agency Programme 

Joint Council (APJC) Pakistan has 

been nominated as Chairman 

Standing Committee on Aviation of 

the Federation of Pakistan Chambers 

of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) 

by Mian Muhammad Adrees 

President FPCCI. Polani has many 

times served as chairman of FPCCI 

Aviation and Hajj and Umrah 

committees. 

PIA 5 ATR-72 aircraft 

PIA has acquired five French-built 

ATR-72 aircraft, each with a capacity 

of 66 seats, on dry lease for a period 

of eight years, according to PIA 

spokesman Muhammad Aamir 

Memon. The remaining four ATRs 

will join the PIA fleet by the end of 

May, 2015. With the induction of the 

aircraft, the total number of ATR 

aircraft in the PIA fleet will rise to 

11, he added. 

Chairman PIA, Nasser NS Jaffer 

inspected the ATR-72 aircraft on its 

arrival. The Managing Director of 

PIA, Shah Nawaz Rehman and other 

senior officials were also present on 

the occasion. 

The PIA Chairman thanked the Prime 

Minister and the Special Assistant to 

the Prime Minister on Aviation, 

Shujaat Azeem, for their co-operation 

in the induction of the aircraft in the 

PIA fleet. 

Emirates honours top travel agents in Pakistan 

Shaheen Air rewards 

its top cargo agents 

A grand ceremony was held at Falleti's 

Hotel Lahore recently at which top 

customers from Lahore, Sialkot, 

Islamabad, Peshawar, Faisalabad and 

Multan of TAQ Wholesalers (Pvt) 

Limited, GSA of Shaheen Air 

International, were rewarded for their 

performance in 2014. The chief guest 

at the ceremony was Faisal Rafique 

DMD Operations, Shaheen Air 

International. 

Present on the occasion were a number 

of senior officials of the airline 

including Fahim Anwar Director 

Marketing, Masroor-ul-Haq Cargo 

Manager Pakistan, M. A. Saqlain 

Regional Director, Muhammad Wasiq, 

Deputy Regional Director and Khalid 

F. Lodhi GM Operations Lahore. Also 

present were senior officials of CAA 

and Pakistan Customs, representatives 

of the handling agency SAPS, senior 

executives of GSA TWL and 

Chairman Aviation Management 

Group Muhammad Ilyas. 

Emirates, a global connector of 

people, places and economies, held 

a gala dinner at Armani Hotel, Dubai 

to appreciate the services of their 

highest performing travel agents in 

Pakistan. The event was hosted by 

Ahmed Khoory, Senior Vice 

President, Commercial, West Asia & 

Indian Ocean (WA&IO), Khalid 

Bardan, Emirates' Vice President 

Pakistan and Adnan Kazim, Emirates' 

Divisional Senior Vice President, 

Planning, Aeropolitical and Industry 

Affairs, who held the position of 

Emirates' Vice President Pakistan 

between 2004 and 2007. 

On the auspicious occasion, Ahmed 

Khoory said: "Emirates airline and 

Pakistan share a very special 

relationship that goes back to almost 

30 years". 

The top cargo agents were rewarded 

with shields and certificates of 

appreciation. In all, 10 cargo agents 

from Lahore, five from Peshawar and 

three from Sialkot received shields. 

The certificates of appreciation were 

given to six cargo agents from Lahore, 

two from Peshawar, three from Sialkot 

and one each from Faisalabad and 

Multan. 

Covering northern Pakistan, Shaheen 

Air International has a number of 

weekly services from Lahore, Sialkot, 

Islamabad, Peshawar and Multan to 

all major cities in the Gulf, Middle 

East and Saudi Arabia carrying export 

dry cargo and perishable shipments 

that have an important role in the 

growth of trade and economy of the 

country.

March-April 2015 Issue

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