Pakistan Steel continues bleeding

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Steel Mills suffered losses in excess of Rs26 billion by June 2009 followed by a loss of Rs13 billion by June 2010 and continued to bleed, Minister for Industries and Production Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani told the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The minister attributed losses to inadequate and inconsistent supplies of raw materials because of non-availability of funds that brought production down to 40 per cent.
To these comments many MNAs then objected to lavish spending, use of luxury cars, and over-employment within Pakistan Steel Mills that was already gasping for life.
“Why so much extravagance when Pakistan Steel Mills is suffering huge losses than any other industry in the country?” asked one of the members who also demanded steps taken to make it stand back on its feet.
“We are making efforts to lesson deficits, expand and renovate the steel industry to make it profitable,” said the minister who also cleared the air that the Steel Mills was not being privatised.
“The Supreme Court saved the PSM before when it was being sold at throwaway prices. The Steel Mills is the backbone of the country and will be made viable,” he told the house.
Just when the minister was done taking heat on losses incurred by Steel Mill, MNA Marvi Memon hit him with the pressing problem of sugar that she said was being sold in markets at three times higher prices.
“The government is trying its best to bring prices down. We have 700,000 tons of sufficient sugar available till December,” the minister responded indicating to flood the markets with increased supply for sugar.
Comparing sugar consumption patterns in India and Bangladesh with Pakistan, Mr Bijarani was firm and maintained, “Sugar is a luxury item and should not be wasted.”
Responding to allegations of manoeuvring prices with collectively with sugar cartels, Mr Bijarani said, “the idea is to flood the markets to counter sugar cartels. If sugar mills are still shut, provinces should ensure that they are operational again.”

Small plane crashes in Karachi, 20 on board

KARACHI: A privately-owned aircraft belonging to an oil company crashed Friday soon after taking off from Karachi with about 20 people on board, said a Civil Aviation Authority spokesman.
The plane came down near the COD (Central Ordinance Depot) area of the Karachi airport, bursting into flames DawnNews reported
Pervez George said the aircraft was carrying company employees to an oil field at Bhit Shah in the southern province of Sindh.
“It was a small plane and there were about 20 people on board. It was a privately-owned aircraft belonging to an oil company,” George told a local news channel.
“Soon after they left, they contacted the airport control tower and said there was a problem in one of the engines. The plane was directed to return and soon after it crashed,” he said. —Agencies

Indonesian volcano kills 35 in latest blast

RANDUSARI: At least 35 people were killed and dozens injured Friday when Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano erupted again, burning villages as far as 18 kilometres, officials said.
The latest deaths bring the total toll to more than 70 since the country’s most active volcano started erupting on October 26.
“The death toll has risen to 35,” said a spokesman for Sarjito general hospital in Yogyakarta, which is south of the volcano in central Java island.
Many of the dead were believed to be children from Argomulyo village, 18 kilometres from the crater of the volcano, according to accounts of the destruction from emergency response officials.
Dozens of people are receiving treatment for burn injuries and respiratory problems due to the volcanic ash, he said.
Government volcanologists said Friday’s blasts were the largest yet.
“This is the biggest eruption so far. The heatclouds went down the slopes as far as 13 kilometres and the explosion was heard as far as 20 kilometres away,” volcanologist Surono said.
The exclusion zone was widened from 15 to 20 kilometres around the mountain and everyone living inside was ordered to evacuate their homes and shelters immediately, he said.
Some 100,000 people are already living in temporary shelters. —AFP

UK announces more air cargo security measures

LONDON: Britain on Thursday began requiring tighter screenings for some air cargo passing through the UK because of the recent mail bomb plot, an official said.
Cargo originating from some cities in India, Qatar, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Thailand, the Maldives, Sudan and Libya will have to be re-screened after arriving in Britain before being loaded onto onward flights, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said.
Currently such flights do not need to be screened in the UK.
Hammond spoke to reporters after meeting with representatives from the aviation and freight industries.
He said they also discussed a proposed system of grading countries sending air cargo to the UK according to perceived risk.
For example, countries that have screening measures matching those of the UK and the European Union could have easier access to the UK than those that don’t.
No details were set, but the proposal will be discussed during a meeting later this month by Britain’s National Security Council.
The government announced last week it is banning all air cargo from Somalia and Yemen after a mail bomb bound for Chicago from Yemen was found on a cargo plane in England.
Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic said that bomb and another one found in the United Arab Emirates were made and sent by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a terrorist group based in Yemen. The bombs were wired to cell phones and hidden in cartridges of computer printers. —AP

Iran denies woman faces imminent execution

LONDON: Iran denied on Thursday that it was poised to execute a woman accused of adultery whose case has been championed in the West, saying reports her execution was imminent were part of a propaganda campaign.
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has been accused both of adultery and of being complicit in her husband’s murder. Her sentence to be stoned to death was suspended earlier this year after prominent political and religious figures called it barbaric.
German-based human rights group the International Committee against Stoning said on Tuesday she would be hanged on Wednesday instead of being stoned. Under Islamic law, which has been in force in Iran since its revolution in 1979, murder can be punished by hanging, while adultery can be punished by stoning.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday he had been told by his Iranian counterpart that Ashtiani would not be executed that day.
A statement from Iran’s Embassy in London on Thursday said legal hurdles still remain in Ashtiani’s court case.
“The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London hereby announces that the recent reports and news concerning the imminent execution of Mrs Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani are all baseless and are strongly rejected,” it said.
“The judicial proceedings and process dealing with the case have not been completed yet. All the recent reports in this regard, merely baseless claims, are meant to stage a propaganda campaign and create a poisonous atmosphere against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” it said.
The United States this week condemned the reported plans to execute Ashtiani, Britain warned Iran against going ahead with the punishment and France asked Iran to pardon Ashtiani.
The case has worsened relations between Iran and the West, which are locked in a dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme. – Reuters

Islamabad calls for fair treatment of UK-based Pakistanis

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad urged London Thursday for fair treatment of Pakistanis living in Britain amid reports of discrimination in the processing of visa applications and treatment of illegal immigrants.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi met British high commissioner Adam Thomson in Islamabad after a report found the British agency responsible for monitoring immigration may be discriminating against Pakistanis in the way it hands out visas.
“The foreign minister strongly advised the British government against taking any precipitate actions against Pakistanis residing in the United Kingdom,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Qureshi briefed Thomson about problems faced by Pakistanis in the UK since the two countries recently signed a deal to help stop UK visa fraud and illegal immigration.
Officials have also said Pakistani illegal immigrants are being singled out for arrest and interrogation despite the status of migrants from many countries being an issue in Britain.
“It is Pakistan’s expectation that the British government will be mindful of the rights and welfare of persons of Pakistan origin residing in the United Kingdom,” it quoted Qureshi as saying.
It added that Pakistan’s high commissioner in London had also been instructed to ensure that rights and welfare of Pakistanis in Britain must be fully safeguarded.

Republicans want troops in Afghanistan to stay

WASHINGTON: Republican lawmakers who now control the US House of Representatives said on Thursday that they would try to prevent President Barack Obama from withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan as he planned.
Congressman Buck McKeon, who will now take over the House Armed Services Committee from the Democrats, has also announced his party’s plan for Afghanistan and Iraq. He said that under the Republicans the committee’s top priority would be to continue the US military presence in Afghanistan. Mr McKeon pledged to work directly with Gen David Petraeus, the US commander in Afghanistan, to commit more equipment and resources to the war effort.
“America remains a nation at war,” Mr McKeon said in a statement. “More than 150,000 of our sons and daughters are deployed around the globe in the fight against Al Qaeda and its terrorist allies. The top priority of the Armed Services Committee will be to provide those brave fighters the resources and support they need to succeed in their missions and return home safely.”
He announced a three-point Republican defence policy: “Ensuring our troops deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world have the equipment, resources, authorities, training, and time they need to successfully complete their missions and return home; building on the Armed Services Committee’s strong bipartisan tradition of providing our fighters and their families with the resources and support they need; and, investing in the capabilities and force structure needed to protect the United States from tomorrow’s threats, while mandating fiscal responsibility, accountability, and transparency from the Department of Defence.”
The Republicans also vowed to adopt a National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2011 to provide more funds for US troops.
Upon taking office in 2009, President Obama quickly established Afghanistan as his war, dramatically escalating the US presence there. The Republicans strongly supported him on the issue but disagreed with a plan he announced later to start a gradual withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan from July 2011.
“You cannot tell the enemy when you’re leaving, when you’re in warfare, and expect your strategy to prevail,” said Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate.
In Tuesday’s midterm elections, the Republicans captured 243 out of 435 seats while 192 went to the Democrats. The Republicans increased their strength in the Senate too, seizing 47 seats.
Although the Democrats maintained their majority in the 100-seat Senate by retaining 52 seats, they did so because only 37 seats were up for election.

DG questions FIA’s inquiry report on Steel Mills

ISLAMABAD: FIA Director General Waseem Ahmed startled the Supreme Court hearing a case of Rs22 billion Pakistan Steel Mills scam by questioning the veracity of an inquiry report compiled by his predecessor.
The report, prepared by the Karachi Crime Circle of the Federal Investigation Agency, said that former PSM chairman Moeen Aftab Sheikh in collusion with its managing director Rasool Bux Pholpoto and Sameen Asghar had caused Rs3.8 billion losses to the mills by allegedly manipulating supply of premium grade billets at an extremely reduced price only to favour Abbas Steel Group of Karachi and ignoring genuine consumers.
“Abbas Group was major purchaser which used to procure 20 per cent billets,” Mr Ahmed claimed. He said the report prepared by the former DG highlighted Rs3.8 billion loss to the mills through this transaction alone.
“But I am contesting the same,” the FIA DG said. “If you are contesting your own department’s report what remains to be done then,” the chief justice observed.
“If the court has no confidence in me I will relinquish the charge,” Mr Ahmed replied. He said it was FIA which arrested 11 people in a corruption case in the National Insurance Company Limited.
At the last hearing, a senior lawyer had alleged that the FIA had only implicated only PSM employees in its inquiry into the corruption.
On Thursday, Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, the counsel for the PSM, informed the court that the mill was still incurring a loss of Rs1 billion per month because of FIA’s pending inquiry even though there was no corruption in the PSM right now.
“Ever since the cases had been registered against different contractors of the PSM, it went into losses and its production declined to 40 per cent,” the counsel claimed.
The mills, he said, required 0.2 million tons of iron ore per month to produce optimum level of steel billets, but it was being supplied only 0.1 million tons of the raw material.
“If the inquiry continues, the mills will be forced to close down,” Advocate Ebrahim said.
He claimed that even the Scotland Yard could not detect ‘white collar crimes.’
“We can close the Rs22 billion corruption in the steel mills if you want,” the chief justice observed. He regretted that nobody wanted to act against influential people. It was the Supreme Court which had first taken action on the PSM scam.
When the chief justice asked about the cancellation of bail granted by courts to people involved in the scam, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq said that no such pleas could be moved because a number of issues linked to the matter were still pending.
Answering a question about the recovery of money, the FIA DG said the agency’s rules did not permit recovery of any amount. It was the job of the National Accountability Bureau, he added.
Mr Ahmed requested the court to order an audit by independent auditors.
The court noted in its order that the statement of FIA DG not agreeing to the report was important because it would have serious impact on the case. The case was adjourned for a month on the request Mr Ahmed who sought time to prepare an assessment report.
The Supreme Court had taken notice on an article by Dr Ayesha Siddiqa in Dawn on Sept 11 last year. She had mentioned five concerns as the main beneficiary of the new sale policy adopted by the PSM Metropolitan, Amreli Steels, Abbas Engineering, Al-Abbas Steel and Abbas Steel.
The issue came to limelight after former PSM chairman Moeen Aftab was fired without issuing any show-cause notice by the Establishment Division on the advice of Prime Minister’s Secretariat on Aug 18 last year because of heavy losses suffered by the mills.

Talks with IMF clear hurdles

ISLAMABAD: The government hinted on Thursday that a breakthrough had been made in its talks with a visiting mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by resolving key economic issues to pave the way for consideration of its case by the fund’s executive board for the release of the next tranche of $1.7 billion.
An official said the government and the IMF had agreed on a revised federal budget envisaging a fiscal deficit of 4.7 per cent, 13.5 per cent inflation and 2.8-3 per cent economic growth rate.
“We have handed over revised budget estimates with a 4.7 per cent fiscal deficit target and they were satisfied with it,” said Additional Secretary for Finance Rana Asad Amin, who headed the government team on budget-related issues.
He told reporters that the original budget deficit target was four per cent of the GDP, but it had now been increased with mutual understanding to 4.7 per cent in view of the changed situation after the floods.
Mr Amin said the finance minister and the secretary had gone to Karachi for consultations with President Asif Ali Zardari and things had been settled.
He said the minister would hold a final round of policy-level talks with the IMF team on Friday and provide a roadmap for introduction of reformed general sales tax (RGST) and power sector reforms, including tariff and subsidy issues.
The official said the RGST law was likely to be approved during the ongoing session of the National Assembly.
In reply to a question, Mr Amin said the IMF wanted to know how the government would carry out commodity operations loaded as it was with a Rs436 billion circular debt, but it did not give policy directives on such issues.
The additional secretary said that about Rs200 billion would be repaid to the State Bank on account of commodity operations and the amount would recycle into fresh operations during the coming crop season.
Rana Asad Amin did not say if all issues had been resolved for the release of the remaining $3.6 billion, out of the $11.3 billion standby arrangement, but said the final discussions would be held on Friday.

FO expects Obama to raise key issues in Delhi

ISLAMABAD: President Obama will disappoint Pakistan if he fails to push India during his visit to resolve outstanding disputes with Pakistan, particularly the longstanding Kashmir issue.
Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit was asked several questions at his weekly briefing about President Obama’s visit to India starting from November 6, but the common dot in his replies was that Pakistan was expecting the US president to “help promote peace and stability in South Asia” a euphemism for resolution of Indo-Pak disputes among which Kashmir is central.
At one point, however, he said: “We hope the US president’s visit to India will contribute towards promoting peace and stability in South Asia. In case the US shows total indifference to issue central to peace in the region, then, we will obviously be concerned.”
President Obama’s visit to India is taking place against the backdrop of revived uprising in Occupied Kashmir, which has left about 120 dead during the past four months.
However, the repression in the Valley has escaped the watchful eyes of the West, which appears to be more concerned about ties with India.
There was, however, cautious optimism in Basit’s statement. He said: “We are confident that President Obama is conscious about that (the importance of resolution of Kashmir issue for the stability of the region).”
The best Pakistanis can expect, analysts said, was that Mr Obama in his private discussions with the Indian leadership nudges them to address the problem.
Mr Basit reminded the West of the need to resolve the dispute that threatened the peace of South Asia.
“We urge the international community, especially the major powers, to take strong notice of the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir and contribute effectively, and I underline contribute effectively, towards resolution of the dispute. A just settlement of this long-standing dispute is also essential for lasting peace and stability in South Asia.”
In the broader context of growing Indo-US ties, Mr Basit emphasised that Pakistan would not be worried about them as long as they ensured a peaceful and stable region.
He cautioned against defining Pak-US relations from the prism of Indo-US ties.
“Our relations are independent of what is happening in US-India relations.”
Even though President Obama has ruled out supporting India’s bid for permanent membership of UN Security Council, Islamabad is still wary about efforts to get India included in elite nuclear clubs like Nuclear Suppliers’ Group, Wassennar Arrangement and Australia Group, which could give Delhi respectability and legitimacy in the nuclear world.
The spokesman said: “We strongly believe that there should be a level-laying field. You know Pakistan fully deserves to also benefit from civil nuclear cooperation with countries around the world.”
REPATRIATION OF PAKISTANIS: The spokesman said of the 7,000 Pakistani prisoners languishing in jails abroad, 932 had been repatriated—66 from Afghanistan, 800 from UAE, 46 from Greece and 20 from Yemen.
Separately, eight Pakistani prisoners in Thailand are being transferred to Pakistan under the Transfer of Offenders Agreement and another 20 will be repatriated from Sri Lanka soon.

Russia closes its airspace to PIA flights

ISLAMABAD: Russia has closed its airspace for Pakistan’s national flag carrier because of PIA’s failure to get the required authorisation timely renewed.
The restriction came at a time when Russia had liberalised its airspace through historic relaxation of its airspace regulations.
The Public Relations Department of PIA confirmed the closure of the Russian airspace for the airline, but did not specify the reason.
However, sources told Dawn that PIA had not applied for renewal of permission in time and in a proper manner, leading to the ban.
Russian airspace, aviation sources say, is the shortest route for Europe and North America.
The move will result in 15 to 20 minutes of extra flying time for most of the flights from Pakistan to Europe, the United States and Canada and back and increase the cost of flights. About 80 flights a week using Russian airspace for overflight will be affected.
Although calculation of the increase in the cost of flights is a complicated matter, the extra flying time, conservative estimates show, will cost the financially-crippled carrier an additional Rs120 million a week in fuel expenses.
Prima facie it appears to be a case of negligence, but a senior pilot said it could be an action of commission rather than omission.

PML-N steps back, MQM sticks to guns in NA

ISLAMABAD: The opposition PML-N seemed stepping back in the National Assembly on Thursday from suggestions for mid-term elections that had angered Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani but his ally MQM stuck to a boycott of the house for the second day running, leaving a gaping hole in the government’s southern flank.
Opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan denied that his party wanted mid-term elections or to destabilise the PPP-led coalition government, which he, however, severely criticised for its alleged failure to tackle corruption and price hike and for what he called its “anti-people policies”.
The prime minister, in a speech to the assembly on Tuesday, had dismissed what he called a talk of mid-term elections or any possibility of martial law that could force such a course after Chaudhry Nisar told reporters a day before that he was hearing “voices coming from streets” to get rid of the present government and that mid-term elections could be an option, and a call inside the house by a lower-ranking PML member before Mr Gilani spoke that “mid-term elections must be held next year”.
“We are not talking of mid-term elections, we are not talking of any martial law,” the opposition leader said while speaking on a point of order on Thursday.
Though he vowed his party would block every government move to “marginalise the parliamentary mode of governance”, he said: “We don’t want to destabilise you. People have given you the right to govern.”
While Chaudhry Nisar’s assertions seemed aimed at dispelling some latest tension between the government and the largest opposition party due to remarks about mid-term elections, the government suffered an embarrassment as the 25-member MQM — one of its key allies — did not return to the house after its Wednesday’s announcement of a boycott that it said would continue until the latest increases in petroleum prices were withdrawn.
There seemed little chances of this demand being met immediately, although the house has admitted four opposition adjournment motions for a debate on oil prices and the general price hike.
The day saw another walkout on Thursday by the opposition PML-Q to protest against the higher oil prices, which the party’s parliamentary leader Faisal Saleh Hayat said should have been approved by the house.
Chaudhry Nisar, in his speech, disputed the prime minister’s assertion in some of his recent statements that his government had implemented 80 per cent of the landmark Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed by assassinated PPP leader Benazir Bhutto and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif in 2006 and said the implementation was “not even 70 per cent” and could be as low as “20 to 25 per cent”.
PPP chief whip Khurshid Ahmed Shah invited his anger when in a rejoinder to the opposition leader he said that “we will be thankful to them” if the PML-N could implement as much of the CoD in the Punjab province that it rules with PPP as a coalition partner as done by federal government.
Chaudhry Nisar challenged the PPP to withdraw from the Punjab government if it was dissatisfied in the same way as the PML-N had quit the PPP’s federal government after six months of association.
But despite such hot exchanges, the government did not seem displeased with the PML-N stance on the day, with Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan saying that there was “difference in perception but not of thinking” as he assured the house of an early presentation of the stalled new accountability law.
Before adjourning until 10am on Friday, the house quickly passed three bills — seeking to further amend the State Bank of Pakistan Act of 1956 to facilitate the central bank’s working in conformity with the present-day international practices, reorganisation and conversion of the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan into a public limited company, and constitution of a Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design to be based in Lahore.