Making recommendations in the Senate to be incorporated in the new budget, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed urged the government to allocate maximum funds to counter cyber and physical security threats.

“Pakistan is a serious victim of cyber crimes committed from the United States and there is an urgent need to frame an effective cyber security system particularly within the defence related institutions,” Mushahid said.

He cited the recent media reports in which it was mentioned that Pakistan is the second largest country in the world, which is on the hit list of the US security agencies, engaged in cyber crimes.

“Even our jet planes will be literally jammed if we fail to develop a counter strategy. We should learn a lesson from the incident of Abbottabad, where the US marines easily carried out their operation and our security agencies were unaware,” he maintained.

Mushahid also urged framing an effective counter insurgency strategy to overcome the internal security challenges. He said all the ministries concerned including defence, interior and military should be on the same page in order to develop a workable plan to defeat the internal terrorism.

Mushahid further suggested withdrawing the proposal to give Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) access to the bank accounts of citizens, which will result in capital flow.

Describing the budget as status quo and the IMF friendly, Mushahid said the increase in General Sales Tax (GST) and corporate tax was going to affect the common man. He said ten per cent increase in government employees’ salary was not enough and the raise should be at least 20 per cent.

Earlier Senator Farhatullah Babar said Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar had made a correct diagnosis when he remarked that Balochistan issue was a manifestation of lack of coordination between the civil and military authorities.  Babar said the civil-military disconnect was indeed at the root of the problem, adding that the parliament would support the interior minister in his efforts to address it. He was however skeptical that the proposed meeting of security agencies to be convened by the interior minister on June 20 to devise ‘new security paradigm’ would succeed in achieving it.

He said the issue of enforced disappearances, the core issue in Balochistan, had become complicated because of this historical disconnect between the civil and security establishment. “To address the issue of missing persons we need to bring the operation of state agencies under the ambit of legislation,” Babar added.

He said National Assembly, Senate, Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Commission on Enforced Disappearances all had strongly noted legislative oversight of the agencies. The Supreme Court during hearings of the missing persons’ cases had also observed that there was a need for such legislation.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2013.

The session was largely dominated by a charged Senator from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas Abbas Khan Afridi who received applause from both sides of the aisle over his speech. The Senator focusing on budget, presented before Parliament on June 11, highlighted clear divides between the provinces witnessed in the election results.

“If we look at the mandate in the recent elections we notice that votes were given not on the basis of party performance, but on the basis of a particular thinking of regionalism,” he said, adding the Punjabis elected a Punjab-based party, Sindhis voted for Sindhi parties and the mandate in the other provinces was found more or less similar.

“It is the mandate of a divided and disintegrated nation and not a united one. This mandate doesn’t reflect the thinking of united Pakistan and is the reason that we see conflicts in Balochistan, Fata and K-P today,” he maintained.

Afridi added that if the leadership fails in taking all the stakeholders in the country on board while formulating policies and distributing resources it would negatively impact national integration.

He warned that if the problems of the people were not addressed the situation in Punjab could get volatile too.

Afridi also criticised the government for discriminating Fata in the budget. He further said that despite receiving money for Fata under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) programme, the government had hardly given the region any importance.

He also lamented that the government did not allocate anything in the budget for the IDPs.

Taking part in the debate‚ Farhatullah Babar urged the government to draft a conceptual framework to strengthen the economy. Babar said that without curbing militancy and terrorism economic growth and investment is impossible. He termed the attack on Quaid-e-Azam’s residency in Ziarat and the one targeting the female students in Quetta “attacks on the past and future of Pakistan”. He on behalf of the PPP assured the government of its cooperation to address these issues.

Saeedul Hassan Mandokhel said one per cent increase in tax will have its effects on the poor people. He urged the finance minister to pay attention to Afghan Transit Trade to boost revenue collection instead of increasing GST.

PPP Senator Saeed Ghani said the government had ignored two backbones of Pakistan’s economy – agriculture and overseas Pakistanis in the budget.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2013.

Correction: An earlier version of the story mistakenly identified the CSF programme as the Competitiveness Support Fund. The error is regretted.

There was a flicker of hope for Afghan film-making with an Academy Award nomination for Buzkashi Boys last year, even though it wasn’t an entirely indigenous work. But today the reality is that Pakistani, Indian, English and Iranian movies are more successful in Afghan cinemas than work produced at home.

“I am a cinema-lover but the curse of war took away everything from us; now with a broken heart I don’t want to work in the theatre anymore,” says Afghan film director Mamnoon Maqsoodi, who spends his time teaching at the university in Kabul or on the radio. This is a far cry from the work he did after shooting to fame 19 years ago for acting in the film Da Kondi Zoi (Son of a Widow).

“It was during the time of the Mujahideen that the film industry started moving towards crisis and the Taliban proved to be the last nail in the coffin,” says Maqsoodi, who spent a decade in Pakistan’s Peshawar in self-exile. “Not only were the cinemas destroyed, but the artists were either killed, or fled the country or became old like me.”

When the Taliban took power, reels of film were burnt on the streets and actors and singers were murdered. According to Dr Atef Samer, a pop and classical musician, women singers were the prime target. Many of the popular voices such as Farzana Naz, Aryana Sayeed and Naghma continue to live abroad due to security threats, only to return to their country to perform at concerts.

Although Maqsoodi returned to Kabul from Peshawar, many others remained behind. They were not persuaded by the possibilities for growth offered by the government and rightfully so, as it failed to provide financial or technical support to the film industry as earlier promised. With the bulk of inspiring seasoned filmmakers absent from the scene, the next generation of young entertainers found themselves alone.

“As young artists in Afghanistan, we don’t have the opportunities and resources, that are available to artists in other parts of the world,” explains filmmaker, Alka Sadat. Despite the threat to women in the industry she has worked on 16 documentaries. Half Value Life, 1,2,3?, After 35 years and Kabul Sea have even earned her best director and best film awards at several international festivals.

Sadat sums up the urgency of having indigenous film-makers: they are able to accurately portray a people who are too often viewed through coloured lenses. “We Afghan artists focus on both sides of the personality,” she says, adding that she is critical of the way foreigners tend to offer impoverished depictions of Afghan women in particular. In her work she tries to counter this. Take Half Value Life, for example, which captures the life of Mrya Basher, the first woman in Afghanistan to have become a senior provincial investigative officer.

And then, Sadat argues that Afghan film-makers are needed simply to provide entertainment. “Most of our films deal with issues of security and war that may be of interest to foreigners but Afghans now want to watch fun movies,” she says. They are fed up of war.

But while the government has tried to help when it comes to shooting films, it needs to loosen the purse strings. “Even if funds do come in from abroad or from donor agencies, they are reserved for artists in Kabul,” retorts Jalalabad-based film director Amir Talash, who has starred in Be Imaan (Faithless) and Te Zema Ye  (You are Mine). According to him, Jalalabad produced the greatest number of Pashto films, 20 to 25 films annually before the Taliban destroyed the only two cinemas in the city. The number has now come down to only two to three films a year. “When we produce a new film, there is no proper cinema to screen it. We screen films either at wedding halls or in tents and that is the reason why people aren’t interested in watching films anymore,” he maintains, holding the government responsible for never rebuilding the two cinemas.

For whatever it is worth though, the government argues that its main priority is security — and not necessarily supporting the arts at this moment in time. Nonetheless, the director for the state-backed company overseeing the national film industry, the Afghan Film organisation, Muhammad Ibrahim Arify, was optimistic that two cinemas would be built in Kabul within a year. Out of the 18 cinemas in Kabul, only four have been reopened to the public.

Additionally, while only one film was made last year, the government has tasked Arify’s department with making at least 12 films by the end of 2013. He feels six is a more realistic goal given the funding. To help pay, Pakistani and Iranian cinemas have come forward to collaborate and Turkish, French and German cinemas are expected to follow suit.

But if the government is paying for the films it also means it is dictating their focus. This is why the theme is supposed to be peace and national harmony. These limitations might not appeal to independent film-makers.

The government is also keen to see film-makers return. Arify is heartened that Maqsoodi is already back in Kabul as is director Sadiq Barmak who had also left for Pakistan. Now all they need to do is find a way to get back to work.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, June 16^th, 2013.

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The lawmakers from the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami parties had walked out from of the National Assembly (NA) session in protest over separate issues.

At least twice Leader of the Opposition in the lower house, Khursheed Shah, asked treasury bench members to go and bring PTI members back to the house. As his pleas fell on deaf ears, Shah took upon himself the task of luring the agitated members of PTI and JI.

Led by their deputy parliamentary leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the PTI legislators staged a token walkout from the assembly in protest over collection of increased general sales tax (GST) proposed in the budget 2013/14 before the approval of Finance Bill by the National Assembly (NA).

“PTI colleagues are out. It does not look good. Please go and bring them back in,” Shah, the former chief whip of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), asked the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) legislators sitting on treasury benches.

Cutting short his speech on the budget at the call for prayers, Shah took MQM parliamentary leader Farooq Sattar with him and went to hold talks with the PTI members.

After the call for prayer was over, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq kept calling out Shah’s name asking him to continue with his speech. The Leader of the Opposition soon entered the house accompanied by the PTI members. He then reminded PML-N members of his party’s democratic tradition.

Earlier, Jamaat-e-Islami also staged a walkout against the withdrawal of a  relief package for the people of Malakand division. Sahibzada Tariqullah of JI said his party opposed government’s withdrawing relief package for the people of Malakand. They too returned to the house later alongside the PTI members.

Combined walkout

In the Senate, opposition parties staged a combined walkout over terrorist attacks on girl students in Quetta on Saturday and Quaid-e-Azam’s residency in Ziarat.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2013.

Senators from the Awami National Party (ANP) submitted an adjournment motion against the increase in petroleum prices and the 17% sales tax imposition before the budget is passed by parliament.

Though the upper house does not have the power to stop the budget from being passed, it can forward recommendations to the National Assembly for necessary amendments. It is then entirely up to the lower house whether to incorporate the recommended changes or reject them.

Since the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) enjoys a large majority in the National Assembly, it is unlikely that it would give in to the opposition’s demand.

“Under which law has the government enforced the GST well before the budget is passed by parliament,” said ANP Senator Zahid Khan, one of the movers of the motion.

“The government will be questioned in this regard.”

Scores of other issues pertaining to the budget will also be taken up by senators taking part in the debate.

“The government did not raise salaries of their employees, despite announcing an increase in sales tax and withdrawing subsidy on the power sector. This will affect the common man the most,” said Khan.

“It’s a matter of great concern for us that the government has burdened the poor and middle class rather than imposing direct taxes targeting privileged classes,” he maintained.

“The government should take a step whereby it can increase its revenues without it having an impact on the poor.”

Khan said the PML-N has been voted to power in order to bring about a change, but it has disappointed the poor segments again.

PML-Q Senator Kamil Agha said there are numerous issues related to the recent budget which will be taken up in the upper house.

Acknowledging the fact that the Senate only has the authority to send over its recommendations, he said the senators will highlight the common man’s miseries which will be seen after the budget is set in motion.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2013.

The budget document shows an increase in funds for various departments of the interior ministry working under the federal government, compared to the last fiscal.

The departments include the interior division, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), passport office, civil armed forces, Frontier Constabulary (FC), Pakistan Coast Guards, Pakistan Rangers and other expenditures of the interior division.

As per the breakdown, Rs603.43 million have been allocated to the interior division for the new fiscal as compared to last fiscal’s Rs572.18 million. ICT has been earmarked Rs5.92 billion against last year’s allocation of Rs5.46 billion.

The passport office will receive Rs1.22 billion, compared to Rs904.46 million in fiscal 2012-13, while Rs32.363 billion have been earmarked for the civil armed forces, against last year’s Rs29.15 billion.

The FC has been allocated Rs6.24 billion, compared to Rs6.23 billion last year.

The Pakistan Coast Guards will see in their all0cation an increase from Rs1.38 billion last year to Rs1.49 billion for the new fiscal. Pakistan Rangers will receive Rs14.49 billion this year against last year’s Rs12.6 billion.

Finally, to meet other expenditures of the interior division, Rs2.8 billion have been earmarked; an increase from Rs2.18 billion.

Allocation for ministry of law and justice

The government has allocated Rs5.12 billion for the ministry of law and justice for fiscal 2013-14, compared to Rs2.94 billion in the previous fiscal.

Out of the total budget, Rs456.32 million have been earmarked for the law and justice division, Rs2.59 billion for other expenditures of the division.

The district judiciary and ICT have been allocated Rs292.34 billion and Rs1.78 billion has been earmarked for the National Accountability Bureau.

Supreme Court’s share

The budget of the Supreme Court has seen an increase from Rs1.04 billion to Rs1.11 billion.

The breakdown shows Rs181.41 million have been allocated for payment to officers against Rs145.07 million last year.

For the payment of salaries to other staff, there has been a decrease to Rs57.68 million from Rs58.23 million last year.

Besides, Rs162.23 million will be released for operating expenses compared to Rs144.96 million last year and Rs10 million has been allocated for employees retirement benefits as compared to Rs5.58 million last year.

A further Rs14.7 million have been allocated for repair and maintenance work of the apex court.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2013.

According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2012-13, released here on Tuesday, production data received from the Oil Companies Advisory Committee (comprising 11 items), Ministry of Industries and Production (36 items) and the Provincial Bureaus of Statistics (65 items) revealed that each sector contributed 0.73%,1.35% and 2.18% respectively to the total growth figure.

Industry-specific data shows that many sub-sectors performed well over the period: the paper and board sector grew 21.97%; rubber products grew 17.61%; pharmaceuticals 16.35%; coke and petroleum products 13.31%; food, beverages and tobacco 7.30%; non-metallic minerals products 5.86%; and textiles 0.92%.

Some sectors, mainly those that are energy-intensive, recorded negative growth over the period. These include engineering products, which contracted 15.60%; wood products 18.98%; automobiles 11.84%; electronics 6.43%; fertilisers 5.03%; leather products 2.33%; and chemicals 1.08%.

The survey stated that manufacturing output rebounded owing to better gas and power supply to industrial units, coupled and supportive government policies – particularly with respect to the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM). A restructuring plan for PSM has been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Restructuring, under which PSM’s board has been reconstituted and a new CEO has been appointed. Its immediate needs have been addressed, and a bailout package of Rs14.6 billion had been granted to PSM in fiscal year 2013, stated the survey.

In addition, some industries like paper and board and steel production eased out of their energy constraints by investing in alternative energy arrangements. However, consumer durables continued to struggle with competition from imports, and the production of automobiles and electronics declined.

In the rubber products group, automobile tyres and cycle tubes were the main contributors to growth, both sub-sectors expanding 18.12% and 12.62% respectively. Growth in iron and steel products was on account of 45.53% growth recorded in the production of H/CR sheets/plates. Three steel plants were commissioned in Karachi during 2012, which are joint ventures with Saudi Arabia, Japan and the International Finance Corporation. These improved steel production in the country.

In the petroleum refining sector, higher margins improved the cash flows of local refineries. In addition, the partial resolution of circular debt also enabled firms to import more crude oil and increase capacity utilisation.

In the non-metallic mineral products sector, the cement subsector managed to grow 6.08% because of the timely release of public sector development funds during the period, which stimulated construction activities in the country.

The food, beverages, tobacco and textile group, which account for about half of LSM, posted modest growth during the period under review. The soft drinks sub-sector recorded 15.58% growth; juices, syrups and squashes recorded 14.05% growth; the cooking oil sub-sector grew 14.75%; and the blended tea sub-sector grew 18.99%.

Restaurants and fast food chains seem to be flourishing in the country, the data shows. At the same time, the demand for dairy products, processed foods and beverages has increased manifold, contributing to overall growth under the foods head.

In the textile group, sub-sectors which registered positive growth in production include cotton yarn (1.27%), cotton cloth (0.22%), knitting wool (14.89%) and woollen and worsted cloth (2.20%).

The presence of cheap smuggled goods in the market for electronics pushed out local manufacturing, with the production of TV sets, air conditioners, electric bulbs and electric tubes all registering a decline.

In the automobiles sector, 34.52% higher tractor production on account of a reduction in general sales tax could not arrest the negative growth in the sub-sector of buses, cars and jeeps and LSVs, which contracted 8.88%, 22.93% and 30.28% respectively.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2013.

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This was stated by newly-appointed Minister of Information Senator Pervaiz Rashid while exclusively talking to The Express Tribune here on Sunday.

“The atmosphere has become tense with the Taliban leadership ever since a drone attack killed Taliban deputy chief Waliur Rehman last month. The new government is making efforts to create a favourable environment so that peace talks could be initiated,” the information minister added.

The minister also said that during a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman held on Saturday, the issue of formulating a middle ground with the Taliban leadership in Pakistan was a significant concern. Pervaiz Rashid also said that the government wants to bring peace in the country and all important steps would be taken, and available resources utilized, for the purpose.

Rashid added that the Taliban have withdrawn all dialogue offers which were made prior to the killing of their top leader Waliur Rehman in a drone attack, and now we (the government) have to again create the conducive environment to convince them start talking.

Sources said that PML-N leaders want to engage JUI-F chief and another influential cleric Maulana Samiul Haq to bring the Taliban on the negotiation table and to end violence in the country. In this regard, the government is also interested in taking the JUI-F on board.

Clarifying the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) apprehension regarding a ‘governor rule’ in Sindh, the information minister said that it is nothing but fear-mongering by PPP, which had failed to deliver during its five years rule.

“The PPP knows that it had imposed the governor rule in Punjab unconstitutionally and now it fears that a similar step can be taken by the PML-N”, said Rashid, adding that our government believes in democracy, constitution and rule of law and every step would be taken as per law.

Pervaiz Rashid maintained that if the provincial government is running the provincial affairs within the domain of the constitution then there is no reason to impose any governor rule. “The parties which fail to deliver believe in such gimmicks in politics,” Rashid maintained.

The information minister said that Mumtaz Bhutto is a senior leader of the party and he met the prime minister to felicitate him on his third time premiership. “No one should be fearful about such meetings as gone are the days when the president or governor used to dissolve the assemblies. Now, no one can take such unconstitutional steps without a reason,” Pervaiz Rashid added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2013.

According to Maulana Amjad, spokesman for Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the decision was reached during a meeting between the JUI-F chief and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad. He said the two leaders discussed the national and international challenges being faced by Pakistan and agreed to forge unity to resolve them.

“It was decided that the JUI-F will sit on the treasury benches, but there is no decision on joining the government at this stage,” Amjad maintained, however.

The spokesman, meanwhile, added that the two leaders agreed on tackling internal security issues and using all available resources in this regard.

Sources said the prime minister, during the meeting, once again invited the JUI-F to join the coalition government. Fazl, however, only partially accepted the request and decided to sit on the treasury benches for the time being.

It was also learnt that Maulana Fazl, upon the premier’s insistence, agreed to use his influence to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, a committee comprising four members each from JUI-F and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is currently working on finalising the terms under which both parties would agree to join hands as coalition partners, the sources maintained.

Among the JUI-F’s key demands for joining the coalition are three federal ministries, including the lucrative housing and works portfolio, and the chairmanship of certain important committees. The PML-N, however, has only agreed to give the JUI-F one ministry, along with the chairmanship of standing committees.

According to the sources, the JUI-F has also forwarded a priority list regarding important national issues – such as load-shedding, economy, drone attacks and certain legislations based on the observations of the Council of Islamic Idealogy – to the PML-N. JUI-F also wants a revamped foreign policy in the county’s larger interest.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2013.

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) on Saturday decided to sit on the treasury benches in the National Assembly and Senate and said it would join the coalition government at a later stage once decisions that are of priority to them are implemented by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.

The decision was taken at a meeting between JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad.

Maulana Amjad, a spokesperson of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, said that the two leaders discussed the national and international challenges being faced by the country and agreed to unite to tackle them. “It was decided that JUI-F will sit on the treasury benches and there is no decision to join the coalition government at this stage”, the JUI-F chief stated. He said that both leaders also agreed to handle internal security issues and use all the resources in this regard. The PM also urged Rehman to play his role in instituting peace in the country, including bringing the Taliban to the dialogue table.

The two leaders discussed the political, economic and security challenges being faced by the country and agreed to address them jointly.

Sources said the prime minister reportedly invited JUI-F to join the coalition government, which was partially accepted. However, a committee comprising four members from each party was already working to finalise the terms on which the JUI-F will join the government. The  party had also voted for Nawaz Sharif during his election as prime minister.

The JUI-F has already given a priority list to PML-N for policies it wants implemented including ending the menace of load-shedding, addressing economic and security related issues, drafting legislation based on recommendations of the Council of Islamic Ideology and implementing parliament’s resolution for ending drone attacks. The party also sought a revamping of the country’s foreign policy in the larger interest of the country.

Meanwhile, sources said that the key demands of JUI-F before joining the coalition are three ministries and chairmanship of some important committees, including the lucrative ministry of housing and works, but PML-N has agreed to give only one ministry with some chairmanship of standing committees.

An eight-member committee of both parties will convene and formulate a consensus for placing JUI-F in the coalition.

According to Radio Pakistan, Nawaz has reiterated that the enormity of the challenges faced by the country demanded unity among the people and cooperation among the political parties.

The Prime Minister said that he would be open to any counsel that would be beneficial to the greater good of the people.