ISLAMABAD / LAHORE: Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik clarified on Saturday that some containers carrying items for the US embassy in Kabul, which had crossed over from Pakistan into Afghanistan on Friday, were not a sign of the Nato supply route being reopened.

Speaking after a meeting with the Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, Syed Munawar Hassan at JI headquarters Mansoora, Malik said negotiations, on the guidelines proscribed by the Parliamentary review, were still underway, and no decision had been taken yet to reopen them.

Explaining the US containers which crossed over on Friday, the Interior Minister said containers containing goods go to Afghanistan through Pakistan under the Transit Trade Agreement TTA agreement between the two countries.

Malik said JI Ameer Hassan has been invited for talks with President Asif Zardari at Aiwane-e- Sadr on important national issues including the resumption of Nato supply line and law and order situation in the country.

He said the PPP and JI agree on the point that there should be no drone attacks in Pakistan. Both Houses of Parliament and all the provincial assemblies‚ through their resolutions demanded that drone attacks should not take place. This makes it the unified demand of the entire nation.

Parliament’s guidelines not a stumbling block

The vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), the largest coalition partner for the Pakistan Peoples Party in the Parliament said on Saturday that the recommendations of the joint session of Parliament provide broader prospect to the government to engage with the United States to renew its relationship for future.

A former senator and a leading lawyer, S M Zafar said in a statement, “I do not see the recommendations of the Parliament as a hurdle in negotiating and determining the strategic relations between these two old allies [Pakistan and United States]“.

He said it was important to steer through the delicate relationship between the US and Pakistan.

He said the points contained in the recommendations were the ideal to be ultimately achieved by proceeding step by step.

He said, accordingly, the Federal Government had the final authority under the Constitution by virtue of Article 97 read with Clause-3 of Fourth Schedule which deals with the external affairs and agreements with other countries, to devise the best strategy in the national interest.

Zafar suggested, “in the present circumstances, it will be appropriate that the Federal Government takes other stockholders into confidence by extending ex-officio membership ofthe Cabinet Defence Committee.”

KARACHI: Minorities  members of Sindh Assembly, Saleem Khursheed Khokhar and Pitamber Sewani contacted Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and briefed him about the threats that they had received from some extremist elements.

According to the sources of PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, taking notice of the threats to PPP MPAs, called Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Saturday and discussed the matter with him. Following the discussion, the Sindh Chief Minister ordered additional security to be deployed at the residences of the MPAs besides providing them proper police escort for their security.

According to a letter written by Shah to additional secretary of Sindh Home Ministry, directives were issued for a police escort to be assigned to the two MPAs. Security agencies have also been asked to monitor suspicious activities. The two MPAs have also been requested to limit their public movements on security grounds.

The two MPAs had said they were receiving death threats for raising their voice over the forced conversion of Rinkle Kumari, and the alarming trend of forced conversions and forced marriages of girls and women belonging to minority religions.

On Friday, Amnesty International too had called for urgent action to extend protection to the under-threat MPAs.

LAHORE: The Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) will march from Karachi towards Islamabad on May 27 against the government’s likely decision to reopen supply routes for Nato forces in Afghanistan.

The announcement came after a meeting of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council was held under Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam (JUI-S) Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq at the Jamaat-e-Islami Headquarter at Mansoora on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference, Haq said the council had decided to start a march against the reopening of Nato supply routes from the country.

“The march will start from Karachi on May 27, and after passing through various cities it will culminate in Islamabad,” he added.

He maintained that it would be a peaceful march in which people from all over the country would take part to voice the sovereignty of the country.

Protests will be staged all over the country on Friday against the government’s move to reopen Nato supply routes, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2012.

Addressing a workshop on ‘Green Economy’ on Friday held by the Ministry of Climate Change in collaboration with Sustainable Development Policy Institute, he said that in the next 12 years the share of hydel power in energy production will be increased from 30% to to 70%.

Durrani said that due to increase in mercury level, glaciers are melting at a faster pace and creating the threat of water shortage.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2012.

KARACHI: Exploitation of Thar coal fields can prove to be a game-changer for the Pakistani economy as its utilisation can provide low-cost electricity to the local industry and make it highly competitive in world markets like the Chinese industry, said Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) Thar Project Managing Director Dr Muhammad Shabbir while talking to media at the Karachi Press Club on Friday. Thar coal’s energy equivalent value is more than the energy equivalent value of combined fuel reserves of both Saudi Arabia and Iran. He said there are two projects in Pakistan that could change the socioeconomic status of the country within a small span of time namely Thar coal of Sindh and Reko Diq copper reserves in Balochistan. He added that load shedding is the main cause of poverty and joblessness in Pakistan and as per an Asian Development Bank study Pakistani economy is braving an annual loss of Rs230 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2012.

ISLAMABAD: International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC will announce in coming weeks strategy on its future presence and set up in Pakistan, the head of an ICRC delegation Paul Castella said on Friday.

In meeting with States and Frontier Regions SAFRON Minister Engr. Shaukatullah Khan, Paul expressed his grievances and concerns over brutal murder of Khalil Rasjed Dale, the ICRC Health Program manager who’s dead body was recovered from Quetta last week. ICRC’s offices in Quetta, Peshawar and Karachi were subsequently put on hold, an official handout had said.

He said the government is committed to providing security to all citizens without any discrimination. He assured ICRC head of delegation provision of full security for its offices, employees and consultations with concerned authority will be take place. He said ICRC was working for welfare of the people of Pakistan and should continue its activities.

Shaukat said ICRC will start its operational activities with new enthusiasm for betterment of those most vulnerable, including wounded, sick, physically disabled. He hoped ICRC will review its decision, understand current situation facing Pakistan and resume its activities soon. Paul thanked Minister’s efforts, assurance for support and commitment.

In an interview in London in late April, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had condemned the incident and expressed his sorrow and grief with his family. But he maintained that Dale’s visa had expired and that the ICRC official had failed to follow government’s advice of not travelling to Balochistan.

Delegations from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, World Bank, USAID, Islamic Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation and the Arab Bank are participating in the conference. The Federal Minister for Water and Power will be leading the Pakistani delegation in the second session of the IGC, scheduled to be held today (Thursday).

After the meeting, an agreement will be signed between countries and donors.

According to a message received from the Pakistani Embassy in UAE, Hilal Raza – adviser on Energy Import, Ministry of Water and Power – said an energy sale arrangement should be arrived at between buyers and sellers at the earliest. The project holds immense importance for Pakistan, he said. He assured participants that the Pakistani government is taking all possible measures to complete the project.

The World Bank representative stated that the Bank is providing all financial, technical, coordination and secretarial assistance for Casa-1000. World Bank has further proposed that project construction start by February 2014, the representative informed delegates. All procedural requirements like bidding, hiring of consultants will be completed by that time, he affirmed.

Afghan minister Ismail khan promised complete security for the project; while, in his opening statement, Tajik minister Gul Sherali stated that all parties are diligently working to implement the Casa-1000 project.

Pakistan will import 1,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity under the Casa-1000 project; while Afghanistan will import 300 MW from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The four countries have already signed an agreement in this regard on August 4, 2008.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2012.

The additional investment has boosted the project’s daily production capability from approximately 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day when UEG initiated the project last September to about 25,000 BOE per day as at the end of first quarter of this year.

In December 2010, British Petroleum (BP) agreed to sell its assets in Pakistan to the Hong Kong-based conglomerate for $775 million. After completion of the acquisition deal, the company took command of nine production and exploration blocks in Sindh and four off-shore exploration blocks in the Arabian Sea.

The BP deal last year represented a significant investment made by a Chinese private enterprise in Pakistan’s energy sector. UEG Limited Chairman & Executive Director Zhang Hong Wei expressed his gratitude to governments of both countries for strong support in facilitating the arrangement. “The acquisition has become a model to our peers for investing in Pakistan. United Energy strives to become one of the leading energy reserves and supply enterprise of the country in next three to five years”, he declared.

“Success of our Pakistani project is an example of Chinese private enterprises investing in overseas markets. Though they may face various operational, development challenges, government and related departments will pay closer attention to needs of these companies. Governments of China and Pakistan have great expectations for progress of our enterprise’s energy project. We will continue investing in existing projects and actively identify new development opportunities in other conventional energy generation,” Hong Wei concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2012.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2012.