NO..!! To US for illogical demands: The Frontier Post

Sajid Ansari

How can Pakistan give permission to a country which is almost openly involved in conspiracies against our homeland in collaboration with Pakistan’s arch enemy, India, and also Israel…? The ultimate objective of US of coming over to Afghanistan, taking the plea of ‘war-on-terror’ and to ‘catch’ Osama Bin Laden is to reach and secure Pakistan’s nuclear arsenals which Washington has said more than a dozen times. So How can we give permission to US for making a mini-US State Department and Pentagon & CIA Regional head quarters, in Islamabad? The people of Pakistan are not in favour of giving US such facilities and would treat it as tantamount to treachery and highest order of ‘treason’ against the country as giving away these permissions mean committing suicide. The way Mr. Zardari gave India Wagah-Torkham transit route, without consulting the Parliament, it is feared that he will also grant this permission to the US. The US administration very well knows the ‘tricks of the trade’ as a little pressure on Zardari yields results. In a democratic country, normally Opposition benches make lot of hue and cry in and out of the Parliament but unfortunately the leader of our main opposition party has been put to ‘sleep’ by Holbrooke, in his last meeting with him, and gave him a ‘strong doze’ to keep quiet and you will be the next President and since then the major and the strongest opposition party is ‘sleeping’ even on issues which directly threaten country’s integrity and solidarity. He is not rightly evaluating the ‘dangers’ and the possibilities of disintegration, looming over the skies of Pakistan, therefore, ever since he is either sleeping, eating or spending much of his time in front of the man-size mirror to see how would he look like ‘President’? Therefore, the people of Pakistan should not expect any hopes from the main opposition party, PML-N, that it would oppose US’s illogical demand. However, it is quite likely that the students and lawyers come out on the streets, all over the country and block these permissions. If we look from the viewpoint of sincerity of the present government, and also the opposition benches, we would find that none of them seems to be sincere with the country as they ought to be. If, God forbid, anything goes wrong with the country, all these Feudal, Waderas, Choudhris, Nawabs, Sharifs and Sardars of the ruling PPP and the rulers-in-waiting, PML-N would fly away to their villas and luxurious apartments and hefty bank balances in European countries and also in the Gulf as they have amassed unlimited wealth after getting through highly unfair means, kick-backs on international contracts and the unpaid and written-off loans of billions of rupees and the cases of corruption cleared by virtue of the controversial NRO. They will immediately get PIA flights rescheduled to their destinations, London and Dubai residences, leaving behind the masses at the mercy of Americans, Indians and the Israelis. And those, Feudal and Industrial Lords, who stay back will provide their allegiance and loyalties to the “conquerors”, the Americans and Indians, in order to save their lands and industries and also to “rule” once again the remaining of Pakistan, as the “conquerors” will divide the country into three pieces. Do they still call themselves Muslims after grabbing and amassing wealth through totally unfair means in a country which has been thriving on loans and aid and the poor have reached l a stage where they are murdering their families and themselves or selling their children for not being able to feed them even once a day? What actually the intentions of the US could be for enhancing its diplomatic staff positions to 10 times more than the approved strength, by the government of Pakistan, particularly keeping of hundreds of Marines and the import of hundreds of DynCorp Armoured Personnel Carriers?. The big question is if a lot of US diplomats can move freely from Islamabad to Lahore and Multan/Bahawalpur, most of them without permission and without an escort too whereas it was also in the news that Southern Punjab is a ‘breeding ground’ of Taliban and yet these Diplomats remained safe and sound, then why 350 additional Marines and DynCorp Armoured Personnel Carriers, are required to be posted in Pakistan. And what is the guarantee that all of these would not be Mossad agents with state-of-art-arms n their possession? It may be recalled that 49 Steel Boxes, burnt in the controversial fire after the bombing at the Marriot Hotel, Islamabad, had arrived in the 6th trip of Mullen’s aircraft which went straight from the aircraft to the already waiting trucks of the US embassy, unchecked. What was in those large 49 ‘steel boxes’ that burned so profusely…? Nobody knows about it but one may just guess the contents from the secrecy maintained by the US Embassy as these ‘steel boxes’ were transferred from the Embassy to Marriott Hotel, Islamabad, at 2:30 AM by Marines who did not allow any of the hotel employees to touch them and handled/transported, all of these, on 4th & 5th floors of the hotel by themselves. It means that the US Embassy’s storing capacity had been reached to the Full, with such consignments, having been arriving in the past through Mullen’s aircraft, which had made quite frequent trips to Islamabad, that is why the Embassy had to hire two floors to keep this ‘special consignment’. It could be someone’s wild guess that there were sophisticated arms and ammunition in those boxes, which could have been supplied to the paratroops of the Special Elite Green Force, Delta Force and the Orange Force, waiting near Pakistan’s borders in Afghanistan to be airlifted into Pakistan at 12 hrs notice, as and when the American President gave green signal to the Chief of command of US army in Afghanistan. Therefore, it seems that by enhancing ‘diplomats’ presence in Pakistan and 350 more Marines, US has more ‘dangerous designs’ against Pakistan. There is another logical big question that India is almost 8-10 times bigger country than Pakistan and a new ‘ally’ too then why US has not chosen India for its ‘bigger’ presence in the region, instead of, specifically, Pakistan…? Moreover, US administration has announced a number of times that they will stay in Afghanistan for an unspecified period, it could be 10, 20 or 50 years, therefore, they want an easy access to Helmand, the Southern province of Afghanistan. Therefore, the demand for a ‘small’ portion of Balochistan’s coast is in fact a multi-purpose use as 1. The US will have a short cut to Afghanistan. 2. The US will have total control of Strait of Hormuz, 3. US’s presence in Balochistan and in Afghanistan will boost subversive activities in Iran. 4. Russia and China’s access to the Arabian Peninsula will be completely blocked. 5. All the Central Asian countries will be dependent on US for access to the Gulf & Middle Eastern markets. There may be other benefits of the area they are demanding through Balochistan’s coastal area, most likely near Iranian border, they will stay there for ever and will never vacate it. Therefore, by giving permission to US, to have an access to Afghanistan, via Balochistan coast, means “Good-bye” to Balochistan. However, according to confirmed news ‘report’, there are already US troops in Pakistan under the guise of US private security contractor “Blackwater Force”, in Peshawar apart from Special Elite Force, Delta Force and Orange force. All these ‘Forces’ have different jobs assigned to them and to be carried out in Pakistan not in Afghanistan “Blackwater Force” (This is a report by the German news agency DPA) Fear is spreading across University Town, an up market residential area in Pakistan’s north-western city of Peshawar, due to the overt presence of the controversial US private security contractor Blackwater. Sporting the customary dark glasses and carrying assault rifles, the mercenaries zoom around the neighbourhood in their black-coloured armoured Chevy Suburban, and shout at motorists when occasionally stranded in a traffic jam.

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The Debt Trap: IMF, World Bank and Pakistan: Economistan

14th August, a day we celebrate as our independence day is fast approaching amidst ever worsening financial condition and ever growing debt burden. The tradition of taking debt for stimulating growth in our economy was started in early years of Pakistan but these debts have today become a bane rather than a boon for our beloved homeland. As Pakistan entered 21st century, its Public debt exceeded 90% of its GDP, over 600% of its annual revenues, and debt servicing accounted for over half of current revenues. In 2001, Pakistan was the only country in South Asia to be classified as a severely indebted country by the World Bank.

Historically, the Government of Pakistan has faced budget deficit since 1947. Early debts were taken during Ayub regime for building dams and industrialization. It was only during this time that this money acquired from abroad was utilized correctly. However, situation changed after this era and with the loss of East Pakistan and much of our economy after 1971 the events took drastic turn. During the later era’s decisions to acquire debts and to increased budget deficit were influenced by political needs rather than economic priorities. Another huge problem that Pakistan faces even today is the continuation of policies especially positive economic reforms which are often reversed only because they were introduced by a political rival while Pakistan’s government expenditure has been increasing constantly in last four decades.

Such uncontrolled expenditures mainly started during Zia era when foreign aid started to flow in due to Afghan war. The 11 years era of General Zia can be considered worst era of Pakistan’s history not only due to it’s political and socio-cultural disasters it yielded which Pakistanis are still facing today but also due to it’s economic policies. During Zia era the total national debt grew at an average rate of 17.7%. The influx of foreign aid did little to help the debt situation as it soared to 630 billion rupees. In fact One contribution to this was the costly non bank borrowing, e.g. from national saving schemes, and the ratio of debt to GDP kept rising. Interest payments on debt also rocketed to about 28 percent of revenues....

For more on this article, please click on the following link: The Debt Trap: IMF, World Bank and Pakistan: Economistan

Sarkozy's Nazisque May See it's Reckoning: Economistan

In a swell of shear stupidity, French President Sarkozy is clearly turning out to be the EU’s loosest cannon on deck. And his latest attacks on his domestic Muslim community may very well bring his nation’s economy to its knees!

Having recently anointed himself “The Furor of the Fashion Police” he stated that the wearing of burqas (traditional Muslim garment) was not welcome in France . If the man wishes to be fair about this statement, he best summon his fashion squad to every Christian and Jewish religious place of worship and have them white-out all the Virgin Mary’s headdresses, while enforcing his ban onto every nun’s habit and every Jewish person’s kippah....

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Water comes to the rescue in northern Pakistan: The National

Tom Hussain, Foreign Correspondent

KARIMABAD, PAKISTAN // Residents of Pakistan’s northern valleys are harnessing the natural might of glacial melt to generate electricity in their remote communities, and local officials hope that further hydroelectric projects in the area will have the potential to alleviate the country’s growing energy crisis.

The five districts of the so-called Northern Areas, known historically as Gilgit-Baltistan, are isolated from the rest of Pakistan by the formidable natural buffer formed by the Himalaya, Karakorum and Hindu Kush mountain ranges.

The snow-capped region of Alpine valleys has been the source of romantic inspiration for writers for a century, even being touted as the home of the mythical Shangri la in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by James Hilton.

However, development workers active in the area said such fairy tales mask the sad truth: until the completion of the Karakorum Highway (KKH), a narrow 1,300-km road between Islamabad and the Chinese border in 1978, its communities were undernourished because of the tremendous difficulties in channelling water for irrigation, and frequently fell victim to cholera because of contamination of the water they did obtain from glacial streams.

A poignant example is the hamlet of Murtazabad in the Hunza Valley, which for some 100 years was the setting for an epic struggle between the community and the sheer, unstable slopes down which cascaded the water they needed.

Veterans of the struggle to tame a 100-metre-long natural channel have passed down stories of how, time and again, the efforts of men working without the skills or tools of modern engineering were frustrated and killed by the temperamental terrain, said Naeem-ud-Din Dinal, a development consultant with the Karakorum Area Development Organisation, an NGO.

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1,000 US Marines to guard Islamabad mission: FO: The Nation

KARACHI - Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit Khan has said that 1,000 US Marines who will be coming to Pakistan will be deployed at US Mission in Islamabad.
He said that there was no restriction on the number of personnel that a foreign mission could station at its mission but it is done through mutual understanding.
The FO Spokesman stated this at Karachi Press Club on Wednesday while replying to a query relating to increase in the strength of the US personnel at Islamabad’s mission. This is perhaps for the first time that a foreign office official has visited a Press Club and replied the queries asked by the media in general.
The foreign office spokesman usually briefs the media at its office in Islamabad. However, it is general practice that foreign ministers meet the media at any place or occasion they choose.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: 1,000 US Marines to guard Islamabad mission: FO: The Nation

US's $1bn Islamabad home is its castle: Atimes

By Syed Saleem Shahzad

ISLAMABAD - The ambitious US$1 billion plan of the United States to expand its presence in Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad underscores Washington's resolve to consolidate its presence in the region, particularly in pursuit of the endgame in the "war on terror".

This marks the beginning of direct American handling of "war and peace" diplomacy in the region, following the forging of a seamless relationship between the Pakistani military establishment and the US military. (See Pakistan-US plan falls into place Asia Times Online, July 24, 2009.)

Standing in the way are Pakistan's restive tribal areas and the seemingly never-ending - and escalating - Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan's Pashtun provinces.

According to reports, the US will spend $405 million on the reconstruction and refurbishment of its main embassy building in the diplomatic enclave of the capital; $111 million for a new complex to accommodate 330 personnel; and $197 million to construct about 250 housing units.

For this purpose, the US Embassy has acquired about 7.2 hectares of land at what is widely considered a mark-down price of 1 billion rupees (US$12 million), courtesy of the state-run Capital Development Authority. A Turkish firm has already built a 153-room compound for the embassy.

The fortress-like embassy will eventually accommodate close to 1,000 additional personnel being sent to Islamabad as part of the US administration's decision to significantly raise its profile in the country. The new staffers will augment the current 750-strong American contingent already based in Pakistan; this against a sanctioned strength of 350.

"What appears to be more alarming is that this staff surge will include 350 [US] marines. Additionally, the Americans are pressuring Islamabad to allow the import of hundreds of Dyncorp armored personnel carriers," reported Pakistan’s largest English-language daily Dawn.

A spokesman for the US Embassy in Islamabad, Richard W Snelsire, told Asia Times Online that the US was "redoing" the embassy compound as it was 40 years old. He said this was also largely because US aid to Pakistan had tripled to US$1.5 billion a year and therefore additional staff were needed. Snelsire dismissed the report of armored vehicles being used at the embassy and also said the notion of 350 marines being stationed there was "fictitious".

The point can't be denied, though, that the embassy is undergoing massive expansion, and one cannot easily assume all of the new staff will be pencil-pushers.

Indeed, since the last few months of 2008, the Americans have quietly been working on extending their physical footprint in the country.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: US's $1bn Islamabad home is its castle: Atimes

Pakistan’s IT exports in hot waters, up 19 percent only: Daily Times

By Muhammad Yasir

KARACHI: The country's exports of Information Technology (IT) and its related services have registered a modest growth of 19 percent compared with last fiscal year. This is the lowest exports growth rate since 2004 because the exports have been witnessing 50 percent growth consecutively for the last five years.

As per statistics obtained from Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), the country's IT and IT-enabled services exports have touched $201 million despite its plunging demand in the international markets as compared with $169 million exports in 2007-08.

However, the country has missed its exports target of $255 million as the global economic recession has affected its offshore demand in the second half of 2008-09.

Managing Director Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), Talib Baluch, said the achievement of growth in exports is quite good for the industry in the scenario when global downturn has exerted its impacts on IT and other industries worldwide.

He said IT industry has started feeling the pinch of global economic slowdown as offshore demand of our exports has been declining in the first half of 2008-09, however, he added the country's exports will take time to rebound, most likely with the recovery of its demand in global economies.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan’s IT exports in hot waters, up 19 percent only: Daily Times

Pakistan ranked 5th in cement exports, surpasses Germany: Daily Times

By Moonis Ahmed

KARACHI: Pakistan has been ranked 5th in the world’s cement exports after a jump of 47 percent in exports during last fiscal year, the Global Cement Report shows.

According to the report, China ranks first with 26 million tonnes in exports, while Japan grabbed the second position by exporting 12 million tonnes. The third largest cement exporter in world is Thailand with around 12 million tonnes, followed by Turkey with 10.6 million tonnes.

Pakistan has left Germany behind by exporting 11 million tonnes of cement during last fiscal year. Germany now stands at 6th position with 9 million tonnes exports.

Irfan Amanullah, Chief Financial Officer of Attock Cement Limited, while talking to Daily Times said that Pakistan secured this position because of high demand and by capturing new markets.

He said that Pakistan could achieve the mark of 13 to 14 million tonnes exports by the end of the fiscal year if the government provides better infrastructure facilities.

He was of the view that the demand had remained firm during the year that helped to reach this mark in exports. “The new markets explored by the exporters include some of African countries, Qatar and Iraq,” he said.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan ranked 5th in cement exports, surpasses Germany: Daily Times

China delivers warship to Pakistan: navy: AFP

KARACHI — China on Thursday delivered the first of four state-of-the-art frigates commissioned by nuclear-armed Pakistan from top ally Beijing, a naval spokesman said.

"The first F-22P Frigate constructed for the Pakistan navy at the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai was delivered to Pakistan on Thursday," said Lieutenant Commander Shakeel Ahmed.

In keeping with contracts signed between China and Pakistan in 2005, the frigates will be equipped with anti-submarine helicopters, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and other defence systems.

"The F-22P frigates will not only enhance the war fighting potential of the Pakistan navy but will also strengthen the indigenous ship-building capability of the country," said Ahmed.

The announcement came two days after Pakistan hit out at India, branding its rival's first nuclear-powered submarine "detrimental" to regional peace and vowing to take "appropriate steps" to maintain a "strategic balance".

Relations between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have plummeted since Islamist gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai last November, attacks that New Delhi blamed on banned Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

For more on this article, please click on the following link: China delivers warship to Pakistan: navy: AFP

Pakistan island sees light, puts wind-power to work: AFP

By Hasan Mansoor (AFP) – 2 days ago

KHAROCHHAN, Pakistan — A tiny island of fishermen is light years ahead of the rest of Pakistan, powering homes and businesses with wind turbines -- protecting the environment and improving the quality of life.

The government may lack the cash to harness hydro, wind and solar resources on a large scale in the electricity-starved country but charities are lighting the way forward by putting wind power to work in remote villages.

"We've been given two bulbs a house, it's a blessing for all of us," said 42-year-old fisherman Mohammad Arif on the subtropical island of Kharochhan, a land of creeks and mangroves in the cyclone belt of the Arabian Sea.

Lying 150 kilometres (94 miles) due south of Pakistan's financial capital Karachi, Kharochhan is an island of thatched homes where fishermen scrape by on 75 dollars a month and never dreamed of having electricity.

Then a local charity pitched up and installed five wind turbines. Now a fifth of homes -- 100 out of around 500 -- have been hooked up to the system.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan island sees light, puts wind-power to work: AFP

$1bn Japanese aid to Pakistan: BBC

Japan has said it will pledge up to a billion dollars in aid to Pakistan. The announcement came ahead of a meeting of donor countries taking place today in Tokyo which is expected to raise between four and six billion dollars.

Prime Minister Taro Aso made the announcement that Japan would pledge up to a billion dollars of aid after talks with Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari. The two men met ahead of international meetings in Tokyo on Friday that will include the United States, China and the European Union, as well as other donors. Pakistan is looking for billions of dollars more from them.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: $1bn Japanese aid to Pakistan: BBC

Pakistan’s oil production drops by 6%, gas up 0.5% : Daily Times

KARACHI: Pakistan’s oil production witnessed a sharp decline of 6.2 percent in 2008-09 to 66,678bpd (barrels per day) against 71,120bpd for the previous year.

As per the production data released by PPIS for 11MFY09 and weekly data of Jun-09, the major oil producing fields such as Adhi, Chanda and Pindori witnessed reduction of output by 8 percent, 18.3 percent and 73 percent, respectively.

However, output of Mela, Kunar, Dahkni and Pashki fields was up by 10.7 percent, 25.3 percent, 23.3 percent and 38.2 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, the gas production marginally grew by 0.5 percent to 4058mmcfd in FY09. This was on account of enhanced year-on-year production from gas fields of Adhi up by 2.1 percent; Bhit up by 9.7 percent; Dakhni up by 44.4 percent ; Loti up by 4.4 percent; Kandkot up by 21.6 percent and Qadirpur up by 3.46 percent.

The said incremental effect mitigated the decline in production from Sawan, which decline by 17 percent and stagnant production from Sui. Apart from the above-mentioned fields, another major field Zamzama, also witnessed a decline.

The Exploration and Production (E&P) companies of oil and gas witnessed mixed trend in output of energy resources. Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) oil as well as gas production diminished by 0.4 percent and 4 percent, respectively. On the other hand, oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) gas production surged by 6.1 percent due to completion of development activity in Qadirpur, however, its oil production diminished by 6.1 percent.

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