ISLAMABAD – Taking the bull of energy crisis by horns, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday announced a number of measures including five-day working week in government offices, making the business centres, marriage halls and other commercial entities time-bound and slashing the power use in government offices by half with ban on use of air-conditioners before 11am.
The Prime Minister also announced end to unscheduled loadshedding and reducing the overall scheduled loadshe-dding by 30 per cent to give immediate relief to the general masses.
Giving the broad outlines of the decisions taken at the National Energy Conference, participated by all the four Chief Ministers participated along with their teams of technical experts, the Prime Minister said that it was the elected leadership of the country which came up with a comprehensive and consensus roadmap for the country to overcome the serious power crisis facing the country.
Flanked by all the four Chief Ministers and Federal Ministers of Water and Power, Information and Petroleum and Natural Resources, the Prime Minister dispelled the impression that the government was having the capacity to produce power but was not doing it owing to financial constraints and posed a question that how a government could take steps to create troubles for itself.
He was all praise for the Chief Ministers for coming up with a prudent proposals for both short-term and long-term measures to manage this crisis and assured the masses that their representatives were putting in their best to come up with a lasting solution to the problems.
Starting with the power conservation measures, the Premier said that all the government departments starting with Presidency, Prime Minister House, Governors offices and residence and down to all government departments half of the lights would remain off, however, only authorised officials would use air-conditioners and that too after 11am.
He further said that all government departments would observe two holidays a week and this decision would be reviewed by July end. All the markets would be closed after 8.00pm except the pharmacies, bakeries and hotels. The marriage halls would be restricted to hold functions in the evenings not exceeding three hours span.
The use of any sort of illumination was banned with the immediate power supply cut-off to neon-sign boards and other commercial displays and switching off every alternate streetlight was approved.
Source: http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/23-Apr-2010/PM-unveils-mega-plan-to-arrest-energy-crisis
PM unveils mega plan to arrest energy crisis
Govt. to address common men’s problems: Zardari
BAHAWALPUR: Recognizing the enormity of problems faced by the common men, President Asif Ali Zardari Thursday reiterated the government’s resolve to address these issues problems by utilizing all available resources while generating more.
“I know the problems are enormous, but the government will address these issues by increasing the country’s resources,” Zardari said while addressing a convention of the representatives, office bearers and the leadership of Peoples Youth Organization (PYO), Peoples Students Federation (PSF) and Peoples Labour Bureau (PLB) from Multan, Bahawalpur and D.G. Khan divisions here at Ashrafabad.
The President said the present government was developing a new relationship with the world including the United State, China and Europe, aimed at presenting a prosperous and dignified Pakistan.
“We, in line with the mission of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, will create a new Pakistan, where all problems are addressed and the people lead a happy life and with their own way,” he remarked.
President Zardari said he gets strength and guidance from the vision and philosophy of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, who never compromised on principles.
Source: http://www.geo.tv/4-23-2010/63635.htm
Five-day working week, markets’ closure at 8pm announced
Govt promises 33% cut in load shedding
* PM says progress in implementation of announced measures will be reviewed fortnightly
* Obama administration has assured Pakistani govt of assistance
By Irfan Ghauri
ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday unveiled a new strategy to deal with the power crisis in the country, announcing measures to save 500 megawatts of electricity daily, the settlement of circular debt amounting to Rs 116 billion, five-day working weeks and the closure of businesses at 8pm.
Addressing a press conference after the conclusion of the three-day ‘National Energy Crisis Summit’, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said the latest measures would not only help conserve 500 megawatts of power, but would help overcome unscheduled load shedding and reduce scheduled power outages by 33 percent. He also announced the establishment of a ‘Public Sector Energy Development Fund’ with an initial allocation of Rs 20 billion.
Around 500 megawatts are expected to be saved through various steps to be taken immediately, including the closure of commercial centres at 8pm, two weekly holidays, a 50 percent reduction in lights at government buildings – including the Presidency, Prime Minister’s House, governors’ houses and chief ministers’ houses.
The prime minister said that under short-term measures, 300 megawatts would be added to the system through 10 independent power projects, while another 1,300 megawatts would be added to the system by the end of year. He said another 605 megawatts would be added through rental power plants (RPPs).
The government would settle circular debt amounting to Rs 116 billion to resolve the financial problems of the power sector, and ensure that the debts do not accumulate again.
Under long-term measures, 21,000 megawatts of hydel energy, 30,000 megawatts of coal energy and 15,000 megawatts through other means would be generated to meet the country’s future energy requirements.
Gilani said progress in the implementation of the announced measures would be reviewed fortnightly.
Elaborating the short-term measures, Water and Power Minister Pervaiz Ashraf said 70 megawatts of electricity would be saved by halving the number of lights at government buildings and other public offices. He said air conditioners would be allowed only to officials in or above Grade 20 after 11am.
The minister said that 314 megawatts of electricity would be saved by halving the use of street lights; 70 megawatts by cutting off power to billboards, neon signs and commercial decoration lights; and 150 megawatts through staggered weekly holidays for industrial units. He said 250 megawatts of power would be saved through agricultural tube wells, which would not be provided electricity at peak hours. He said “a lot of electricity” would be saved through the closure of commercial markets at 8pm, while wedding halls would be allowed three-hour functions, and “the timings would be decided by the provincial governments”. He said all government offices would have two weekly holidays. The measures would remain in place until July 30 ... they will be reviewed according to the situation at that time.”
About power generation plans, the minister said the availability of gas was essential for power generation. He said 183 MMCF of gas were, therefore, being provided to the power sector to add 740 megawatts to the system: 240 megawatts through Guddu, 200 megawatts through PEPCO and 300 megawatts through other generation companies. He was optimistic that by the end of the year, around 1,305 megawatts of additional electricity would be made available through rental power projects and independent power producers. He said 300-650 megawatts of power being provided to the Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) would be diverted to other areas.
US aware: Gilani said there was an understanding and realisation in the US over the seriousness of the electricity shortage in Pakistan, and he had been assured by the US administration of cooperation in this context. He said the government was “sincere and fully aware” of the sufferings of the masses and was taking practical measures to address the problems confronting the country. He said the government was focussing on providing energy to the industrial and agriculture sectors in a bid to ensure that the country’s economy was not affected.
The chief ministers of the four provinces who deliberated over the last three days at the energy summit also attended the conference.
Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\04\23\story_23-4-2010_pg1_1
Dialogue on A Common Destiny
LAHORE: Prominent academics, writers and analysts from India and Pakistan met here on Thursday at a closed-door seminar, titled “A Common Destiny”, the first of Aman Ki Asha’s series of discussions on issues of strategic importance.
A press release said the delegates agreed to the need for peace between the two countries and the importance of a sustained dialogue to resolve bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, terrorism, water-sharing, trade and investment.
They endorsed the Aman Ki Asha initiative of the Jang Group of Pakistan and The Times of India Group and recommended the following:
WATER: India and Pakistan face the common threats of climate change and global warming that are leading to a global water scarcity. At times of water scarcity, stress levels tend torise. The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, termed as a ‘peace treaty’, must be followed in letter and spirit.
VISA: One of the most effective ways of reducing conflict is to allow the people to meet. India and Pakistan must do away with the visa restrictions, including city specific visas, police reporting, the same entry-exit points, etc.
TERRORISM: India and Pakistan face the common threat of extremism and terrorism. The participants urged both the governments to take all the steps to comprehensively defeat this menace. Dialogue between the two nations should continue and not be hostage to the actions of the terrorists/spoilers.
INTELLIGENCE SHARING: To frustrate terrorist designs, there needs to be enhanced intelligence sharing between both the countries. The intelligence agencies need to talk and agree on a code of conduct.
DEFENCE: Both the countries must agree to renounce the use of force, overt or covert.
TRADE AND INVESTMENT: South Asia forms a natural trade and economic regional bloc. Trade and investment develop sustainable interests and interdependencies between trading partners, creating a stake in each other’s economic development and well-being.
To speed up the emergence of a South Asian free trade area, India and Pakistan should progressively reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade. This would be particularly valuable in the realm of textiles, as current restrictions effectively prevent Pakistan’s exports from reaching the Indian domestic market. Both the countries should welcome investments in each other’s countries and facilitate inter-and intra-regional trade.
INFORMATION: Enable the free flow of information between the two countries. The current bans on Indian news channels and publications in Pakistan and on Pakistani channels and publications in India must be lifted.
Lift the restriction on resident journalists in each other’s countries - according to the current exchange protocol, only two journalists from India and Pakistan are allowed to work in the other country.
YOUTH: More than half of our population is under 25 years of age. A skilled, trained and well-educated South Asia has the potential to be the global knowledge hub. Investing in this population is essential to realise the potential of our demographic dividend.
EDUCATION: Our education budgets need to be progressively increased to a level commensurate with the focus on education that this region needs. We must also ensure that history and other textbooks are objective, accurate and non-sectarian, and free of prejudice and bias.
We strongly support the South Asian University established by the governments and call upon the governments to ensure that the University is accessible to all the students in the region.
SOUTH ASIA AND SAARC: In this age of regional blocs, South Asia (Saarc) can play a dominant role in various issues, like: security, energy, water, environment, global trade, etc. This is in the strategic interest of both India and Pakistan.
Delegates from India included Salman Haidar, former foreign secretary, Prem Shankar Jha, writer and analyst, Amitabh Mattoo, professor, international relations, JNU, Admiral (retd) K Nayyer, and Admiral (retd) Laxminarayan Ramdas.
Participants from Pakistan included Dr Mubashir Hasan, former federal minister, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, former foreign minister, IA Rehman, director HRCP, Arif Nizami, senior journalist, Shafqat Mahmood, columnist and analyst, Razzak Dawood, businessman, Khaled Ahmed, senior journalist, and Amin Hashwani, businessman.
The discussion was moderated by former national security adviser Maj-Gen (rtd) Mahmud Ali Durrani, who is also a prominent figure in Track-II Dialogues between India and Pakistan. There will be a televised interaction between the delegates and the invited members of the civil society and the media on April 23.
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=28452
Islamabad High Court revived
A notification issued by the law ministry on Thursday said: “In terms of Article 175 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as amended by the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, the High Court for Islamabad Capital Territory is hereby established at Islamabad with immediate effect.”
The high court will start functioning after appointment of judges. Law Minister Babar Awan said that the chief justice and judges of the IHC would be appointed from all units of the federation.
Law ministry sources said that former IHC judges were expected to be reappointed.
“Staffers of the high court will also be summoned to their previous posts from the surplus pool following restoration of the court,” the minister said.
He said that besides IHC, the federal capital will have 10 special courts that would take up cases relating to environment, narcotics, labour, banking, consumer and others.
The Supreme Court last year declared the Islamabad High Court as illegal, saying it had been established under the Provisional Constitutional Order imposed by former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf of Nov 3, 2007.
In its July 31 judgment, the apex court had struck down the order of establishment of the IHC and reverted the judicial system to the status of Nov 2, 2007. All the judges who were part of the judiciary on Nov 2, 2007, had been ordered to return to original courts. All judges who were not part of the judiciary had been ordered to cease acting as judges.
The IHC employees had been ordered back to their original positions or to the federal surplus pool.
The Supreme Court, under Justice Hameed Dogar, had decided in favour of the establishment of IHC. But its creation was delayed because of a stay order issued by the Lahore High Court after its establishment was challenged. The IHC was to start functioning in Feb 2008.
Source: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/islamabad-high-court-revived-340
Iceland closes airports for first time due to volcanic ash
LONDON: Iceland will close two airports on Friday for the first time, a week after ash from an Icelandic volcano forced the shutdown of airspace over much of Europe and stranded thousands of passengers around the world, the Icelandic aviation authority announced.
The Keflavik International Airport and Reykjavík International Airport will be closed beginning early Friday morning, the aviation authority said, according to a statement on the Keflavik airport's website.
Though the ash cloud originated in Iceland, the country's airports have been spared from closure until now. Strong northwest winds had been blowing ash from the volcano, in the south of Iceland, out to sea and over Europe.
Elsewhere in Europe, most airports appeared to be open on Thursday and are expected to be open Friday.
That reduction in volcanic activity appeared to be the main reason that flights resumed operating in Europe on Wednesday, along with European countries relaxing their restrictions on flight, according to a spokeswoman for Eurocontrol, an intergovernmental body that manages European air travel.
Source: http://www.geo.tv/World.htm
IMF chief says global recovery still fragile
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has warned governments to guard against complacency as the global economy recovers from its deepest recession in generations.
"Even if recovery is stronger and faster than expected, it's still fragile," Strauss-Kahn told reporters on Thursday. "The world is still a dangerous place."
The global recovery was "uneven," Strauss-Kahn noted. Emerging economies like China and India were powering ahead while the recovery in wealthier nations was much more sluggish, highlighted by high unemployment and still weak private demand.
The growing budget deficits of governments in wealthier countries were also a worry. Greece's debt crisis was serious, Strauss-Kahn said, but added there were no other euro-zone countries that the IMF was especially concerned about at the moment.
IMF and European Union officials this week began discussions with Greece over how to help the cash-strapped government. Strauss-Kahn said the government's tough budget cuts were extremely necessary and in Greece's own interest.
The IMF in a semi-annual economic report released Wednesday predicted global growth of 4.2 per cent this year. But industrial nations would grow just 2.3 per cent, while developing countries will add 6.3 per cent in 2010.
Strauss-Kahn credited global cooperation with helping to avert a depression in 2009 and said governments should continue working together as they overhaul financial regulation to prevent another credit crisis.
Key elements of financial reforms should be agreed on the international stage by the end of the year, Strauss-Kahn said, suggesting President Barack Obama might be pushing too quickly for his own reforms in the United States.
Strauss-Kahn also offered his backing to a controversial tax levy against banks to "secure some resources" to help governments wind down failing banks in a future financial crisis without putting taxpayer funds on the line.
Finance ministers from the world's leading economies will discuss the proposed bank levy and how to keep the economic recovery going when the IMF and World Bank hold their spring meetings this weekend.
Source: http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/International/23-Apr-2010/IMF-chief-says-global-recovery-still-fragile
Australia, Britain issue travel warnings for India
NEW DELHI: Australia and Britain on Thursday warned tourists of the increased risk of militant attacks in New Delhi, joining Canada and the US, which have urged foreigners to avoid parts of the Indian capital.
The United States said Wednesday it had information of a “specific” threat to half-a-dozen of the city’s shopping areas and markets which it described as “especially attractive targets.”
The Canadian government said on its website that an attack could be carried out “in the following days or weeks in market areas” of Delhi frequented by foreigners.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade updated its travellers’ website on Thursday to give information about the new warnings issued by the United States and Canada a day earlier.
Chandni Chowk, Connaught Place, Greater Kailash, Karol Bagh, Mehrauli and Sarojini Nagar are all believed to be possible targets for terrorist attack in the Indian capital, the website says.
Following this new advice, the Australian High Commission in New Delhi said Thursday it “strongly” advised Australians “to minimise their presence in market areas of New Delhi.”
The warnings come as thousands of athletes and tourists prepare to travel to New Delhi for the Commonwealth Games and only days after bomb blasts rocked Bangalore ahead of the Indian Premier League semi-finals.
The advisories were upgrades to previous general advice warning of attacks on prominent business and tourist locations such as Western-owned hotels.
A statement from the British High Commission on Thursday warned that “there are increased indications that terrorists are planning attacks in New Delhi.”
In February, a bomb ripped through a crowded restaurant popular with travellers in the western city of Pune, killing 16 people, including five foreigners.
Australia, however, has not upgraded the overall level of advice on India, continuing to urge travellers to exercise a high degree of caution while in the country. —Agencies
Source: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/07-australia-britain-issue-travel-warnings-for-india-ha-01
Egypt finds 2000-year-old bronze coins
CAIRO: Archaeologists unearthed 383 bronze coins dating back to King Ptolemy III who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century BC and was an ancestor of the famed Cleopatra, the Egyptian antiquities authority announced on Thursday.
The statement said one side of the coins were inscribed with hybrid Greek-Egyptian god Amun-Zeus, while the other side showed an eagle and the words Ptolemy and king in Greek.
Founded by one of Alexander the Great’s generals, the Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt for some 300 years, fusing Greek and ancient Egyptian cultures.
The coins were found north of Qarun lake in Fayoum Oasis 50 miles southwest of Cairo. Other artifacts were unearthed in the area included three necklaces made of ostrich egg shell dated back to the 4th millennium BC and a pot of kohl eyeliner from the Ottoman Empire.
The objects will all be displayed in the new Egyptian museum under construction near the pyramids of Giza.
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=235610
IMF bows to demand
ISLAMABAD: The Interna-tional Monetary Fund (IMF) has relaxed the condition of the integrated enforcement of value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services in the federal and all four provinces from July 1, 2010, Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister Dr Kaiser Bengali confirmed here on Thursday.
From July 1, 2010 onwards Sindh would implement its own draft VAT legislation under which Sindh province would not only levy VAT on services but also collect VAT through its own tax collection machinery, he added. However, VAT on goods would remain the exclusive right of the federal government and its collection from Sindh would be done by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), he explained.
From July 1, 2010 the FBR would enforce VAT on goods as well as services covering federal government and other three provinces Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and its collection would also be performed by the FBR authorities, he added. The VAT Act was drafted keeping in view the British model, which is based on Unitary State and Pakistan being a federation, this model was not fit for it. To bridge this legal gap, there was a need to adopt a VAT model suitable in countries, which are federation and having federating units like India, Canada and Brazil, Dr Bengali explained.
From July 1, 2010 Pakistan may adopt Canadian VAT model, which allows the federal government and provinces to enforce and collect VAT individually and not collectively by one federal authority.
Its worth mentioning here that earlier the government of Pakistan had committed with the IMF that integrated VAT regime would be enforced on goods and services with its collection through FBR. However, with the finalisation of the 7th National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, the federal government accepted the right of provinces of taxing services by the provinces.
With the formal signing of 7th NFC Award, the province of Sindh was contesting for its right and demanding the federal government to allow the province of Sindh to enforce and collect VAT on services through its own tax collection machinery.
Although the federal authorities have tried their level best to convince the Sindh government to agree on enforcement of integrated VAT on goods and services through FBR, however, the strict stance of the Sindh government has compelled not only the federal government but also the IMF authorities to accept the demand of the province of Sindh.
FBR authorities strongly feel that only integrated VAT on goods and services is the best option, otherwise VAT could not be implemented.
FBR has prepared three scenarios for enforcement of VAT - National VAT, National and Provincial VAT and National VAT minus Sindh.
National VAT regime would be more suitable for the entire country as it would have single registration number for the business selling goods and services, there would be uniform tax scope, no origin or destination dispute, federal and provincial VAT to be mutually adjustable, no multiple taxation, single tax management to be done by FBR, low collection cost and whole of Pakistan would be considered as a single market.
National and Provincial VAT regime would have different features like multiple registrations at federal and provincial levels, there would be divergent tax scope, there are chances of inter-provincial disputes on origin and destination, no adjustment among federal and provincial VATs, there would be multiple tax burden on taxpayers, multiple tax management would be required at federal and provincial level and this would result in high collection cost as the country would be divided into multiple markets.
National VAT minus Sindh regime would have totally different features like dual registration, divergent tax scope, there would be disputes on origin and destination between Karachi and Islamabad and no adjustment with Sindh VAT, there would be double tax burden, high collection cost and duel market to exist in Pakistan, FBR analysis said.
Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\04\23\story_23-4-2010_pg5_1