Sugar barons’ clout in govt blamed for crisis

ISLAMABAD: The Network for Consumer Protection has expressed concern at the dramatic increase in sugar price and alleged that sugar barons having clout in the government have created an artificial shortage.

Sugar price has surged to an all-time high of Rs120 per kg in a week from Rs85 on Oct 31, proving that the government has miserably failed to keep a check on food prices and provide relief to consumers, a press release issued by the organisation said on Tuesday.

Its executive coordinator, Dr Arif Azad, said roots of the problem lay in the sugar lobby’s political clout in determining sugar output, timing of import and scaremongering about rises in prices.

“For the sake of protecting consumers from artificially inflated sugar price rises, the government has to bring in regulatory measures to rein in the power of sugar lobby,” he said.

He called for an investigation to fix responsibility for a ‘criminal’ delay in sugar import which, he said, had given a chance to mill owners to sell the commodity at high prices.

Dr Azad rejected the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association’s claim that damage to sugarcane crop in recent floods was the main cause of the surge in price.

“While this may be partly true, the real reason has been collusive price-fixing behaviours which have been highlighted by the Competition Commission.”

If sugar tycoons and the government departments concerned had taken measures to import sugar in time, the commodity would have been available in the market at not more than Rs70 per kg, he said.

Dr Azad wondered as to why no policy statement had been given on the artificial sugar crisis and even the main opposition parties were not exerting pressure on the government to control the price.

However, the CCP is of the view that the crisis has evolved because of hoarding.

The commission’s chairperson, Rahat Kaunain Hassan, said it was closely monitoring the crisis and would intervene only when it found a violation of the Competition Act.

An investigation by the CCP last year had found that sugar mills were violating the rules of open market competition. The investigation was carried out after mills unilaterally raised the prices, compelling the Supreme Court to fix a rate.

Ms Hassan said the CCP was not a price regulatory authority, but it believed in the principles of free import and free market where prices were fixed on the basis of availability.

“It’s purely an issue of hoarding, and not pricing,” she said, adding that strict measures by the provinces were required to eliminate hoarding.

In reply to a question, the CCP chief said there must have been some faults in the government’s import policy.

She said the Trading Corporation should develop a mechanism under which the stocks of sugar should go to retailers instead of hoarders. The issue will not be resolved by merely opening tenders.

She said the provincial governments should launch a campaign to impound the commodity from hoarders and make it available in the market.

In India, sugar is being retailed at Rs55, in Brazil at Rs60 and in the US at Rs117 per kg.

Houbara hunting permits issued to Gulf dignitaries

KARACHI: The federal government has issued 28 special permits to the rulers, members of ruling families and other dignitaries of four Gulf states to hunt the internationally protected Houbara bustard during the 2010-2011 season, according to reliable sources.

The sources said that, according to the code of conduct, the hunting period is restricted to 10 days with a bag limit of 100 birds.

Hunting of Houbara bustard by Pakistanis is banned under wildlife laws.

Houbara bustard, a native to Central Asia’s Kuzl Kum region, around the Aral Sea, is a migratory bird species that visits Pakistan every year to escape the harsh winter.

The bird is sought after by Arab hunters owing to a myth that its meat has aphrodisiac qualities — a notion not supported by scientific evidence.

The United Arab Emirates tops the list with 13 hunting permits — 11 of these have been awarded to the ruler and ruling family members. Five of these have been granted to people from Abu Dhabi and six from Dubai.

ABU DHABI
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, has been allotted hunting areas in three provinces.

In Punjab he has been granted Rahimyar Khan, Rajanpur and D.G. Khan districts, in Sindh Sukkur, Ghotki, Nawabshah and Sanghar districts and in Balochistan his areas comprise Zhob, Ormara, Gwadar, Pasni, Panjgur and Washuk districts.

Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown prince of Abu Dhabi, can hunt in Lehri Tehsil of Sibi district, Balochistan.

Deputy prime minister of UAE, Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, has been permitted to hunt in Khairpur district, including Kot Diji.

DUBAI
Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice-president of UAE and ruler of Dubai, has been permitted to hunt in Khuzdar and Lasbela districts of Balochistan and Muzaffargarh district in Punjab.

SAUDI ARABIA
Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud has been allotted Chagai and Nushki districts of Balochistan.

Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz, interior minister and brother of King Abdullah, has been permitted to hunt in Dera Bugti, Dera Murad Jamali, Nasirabad and Awaran districts of Balochistan.

In Punjab his territory comprises Khushab, Jhang, Mianwali and Sargodha districts.

QATAR
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the amir of Qatar, has been allotted Bahawalnagar district in Punjab.

President Karzai invites PM Gilani to Kabul

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has accepted President Hamid Karzai’s invitation to visit Afghanistan.

According to sources in the Prime Minister’s House, the Afghan president called Mr Gilani and formally invited him to visit Kabul at an early date.

It will be Mr Gilani’s first official visit to the war-torn country.

The prime minister recently said that Pakistan could play a key role in Afghan peace talks with the Taliban.

Mr Karzai, according to officials, said he would like to discuss with the prime minister the whole gamut of issues, including the war on terror and bilateral relations.

The prime minister accepted the invitation and said that high-level contacts would help bring the two countries closer and strengthen their efforts in the fight against terrorism.

The two leaders decided that foreign ministries of the two countries would coordinate to agree on a mutually-accepted timeframe for the visit.

Cabinet set to approve RGST today

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet is set to approve a revised general sales tax framework on Wednesday. It seeks, among others, withdrawal of exemptions on textile and agriculture sectors.

“This will be a tough decision for the cabinet because the RGST framework seeks withdrawal of exemptions on the textile and clothing sector, which contributes over 55 per cent in the country’s total exports,” a finance ministry official told Dawn on Tuesday.

According to him, the International Monetary Fund turned down a request by government for exempting the textile and clothing sector from GST, saying only exports could be exempted from the levy.

This means that piling up of refunds will cause liquidity crisis for local industries and a reduction in their production. As a result, the industries would carry out massive layoffs to reduce cost, which would aggravate unemployment.

A knowledgeable source in the finance ministry said that officials from various ministries held meetings with Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh on Tuesday to work out a final RGST draft for presentation in the cabinet meeting.

An FBR official said the withdrawal of exemptions would lead to piling up of refunds for the textile sector because of the ‘ineffective’ system of refund payment to exporters.

“The government has paid out repayment of refunds on some inputs of the textile sector after two years,” the official said, adding that this had happened even after the entire sector was exempted from the GST payment.

More than Rs42 billion refund cases have been pending with tax officials for one year because of the ineffective tax system.

After the withdrawal of exemptions, the refund amount would pile up further because there was no proper documentation of records, the FBR official said.

Sources said that the FBR had to exempt the textile sector from GST because of the alleged corruption in the payment of undue refunds to exporters, causing a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer.

An agriculture ministry official said the withdrawal of exemptions on the agriculture sector would further increase prices of food items and inflation.

According to the source, the finance ministry will brief the cabinet on these issues which have been linked with future assistance from donors. The meeting will also consider measures to generate new sources of revenue.

The provincial governments, the source said, could also present the RGST draft in their assemblies after consultation with the federal government, if needed.

There is a deadlock between Sindh and other provinces over the mode of collection of GST on services.

Sindh says the provinces should have a right to collect GST, while Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa want the centre to collect the tax and then distribute it among the provinces in accordance with an agreed formula.

Pakistan concerns conveyed to US ambassador

ISLAMABAD, Nov 9: Shocked by the US support for India’s bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations’ Security Council (UNSC), Pakistan has conveyed its disappointment to the American ambassador here and told him the move could have serious repercussions for the conflict-ridden region and reform of the world body.

Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, diplomatic sources said, curtly told Ambassador Cameron Munter that while endorsing India as a permanent Security Council member the US appeared to have acted out of expediency of power politics, completely forgetful of Delhi’s conduct in relations with its neighbours, disputes that engulfed the region and its flagrant violations of UNSC resolutions on Kashmir and human rights in occupied Kashmir.

Pakistan’s military establishment, arguably the real force behind the country’s foreign policy, will also get an opportunity to convey its sentiments during meetings with US Commander in Afghanistan Gen David Petraeus, who is expected to arrive here on Friday.

With President Obama having supported the Indian candidature, eyes in Islamabad are now focussed on China, the only Security Council member which is yet to announce its support for New Delhi’s move for a bigger role in the world body.

The other three permanent members — Russia, Britain and France — have already declared their support for India.

But, soon after President Obama’s announcement, China indicated its readiness to hold consultations with India on the issue, even though the offer was punctuated with a desire for a “democratic and patient” process.

Meanwhile, the Uniting for Consensus, a grouping of countries which are opposed to any expansion in the UN council’s permanent membership, meanwhile, has expressed concern at the US support for India’s bid.

But despite the protestations, the prevailing sense in Islamabad is that the US announcement is merely symbolic, given the complexity of the issue.

Talks in New York over UNSC reform and expansion are stalled. Besides, the expansion process is protracted and complicated.

Senior Pakistani diplomats, however, emphasised that symbolism mattered a lot when it came to India and Pakistan.

The diplomats took heart from Mr Obama’s phraseology, which they believe did not explicitly endorse India’s candidature. President Obama said: “US welcomes India as it prepares to take its seat at the UN Security Council. I look forward to a reformed UN Security Council that includes India as a permanent member.”

One diplomat said: “The words have been carefully phrased and shouldn’t be read as a statement of support. There isn’t much effort in that direction.”

An interesting explanation on offer at the Foreign Office was that the economic aspect of Mr Obama’s visit was very clear, but it definitely “lacked the big bang”.

“He probably wanted to create some highlight of his visit to India to overshadow President Bush’s trip to New Delhi in 2005 in which the latter had announced a civilian nuclear deal. Supporting India’s desire for a permanent UNSC seat was something which could go very well with the people of India, but at the same time did not cost Washington anything. Hence the announcement.”

Pakistan, diplomatic sources said, had been earlier assured by the White House that President Obama would not endorse the Indian candidacy.

In an interview before embarking on the visit, President Obama himself had termed the Indian membership issue “difficult and complicated.”

Masood Haider adds from New York: Diplomats at the UN observed that India’s quest for a seat was likely to face opposition from China, a permanent member of the council, and from nations and advocacy groups who say India’s conduct in the disputed Kashmir region and elsewhere consistently violates key UN resolutions.

The Uniting for Consensus involved in discussions on the expansion of the Security Council opposes new permanent members. It has expressed “serious concern” over the United States’ endorsement of the Indian bid for a permanent seat in the Security Council and says that it will complicate the reform process.

The UFC group, led by Italy and Pakistan, opposes induction of new permanent members and strongly advocates expansion in the non-permanent category.

Progress is stalled in the ongoing inter-governmental negotiations taking place in the General Assembly that are aimed at reforming and expanding the Security Council to make it more effective, accountable and representative.

The negotiations to reform the Security Council are focused on five key areas – the categories of membership, the question of veto, regional representation, size of an enlarged Security Council, and working methods of the council and its relationship with the General Assembly.

Despite a general agreement on enlarging the council as part of the UN reform process, member states remain sharply divided over details.

Both Pakistan and India have role in Afghanistan: US

WASHINGTON: The United States believes that both India and Pakistan can play an important and constructive role in Afghanistan, the White House and the State Department say.

Earlier, US officials had assured Pakistan that while they recognise India’s reconstruction efforts and economic support to the Afghan government, Washington also appreciates Islamabad’s concern about involving India in military matters.

This echoed in a statement the White House issued on Monday afternoon on talks in New Delhi between US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The two leaders agreed to collaborate closely to as-sist the people of Afghanistan by identifying opportunities to leverage their relative strengths, experience and resources, the statement said.

“Our collaboration will focus on agricultural development and women’s empowerment, where Afghanistan’s needs are great,” the White House said.

The statement, however, ignored India’s desire for a greater role in training Afghan security forces and in the talks between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents.

The issue was raised again at a State Department briefing where an Indian journalist asked why India was never mentioned as a country that had a role in stabilising Afghanistan.

“We have talked to India regularly, repeatedly, in every high-level meeting about Afghanistan. We completely support India playing a constructive role in Afghanistan as part of our regional strategy,” said State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley while responding to the comments.

“We recognise that a number of countries in the region, including India, including Pakistan, including others, can play an important and constructive role in the advancement of Afghanistan. So we have not excluded India in any way, shape, or form,” he said in response to a question.

The US-India joint statement also emphasised this point, saying that both countries were committed to intensify consultation, cooperation and coordination to promote a stable, democratic, prosperous and independent Afghanistan.

Musharraf outlines his political strategy for Pakistan

NEW YORK: Exiled former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who plans to return home and head a new political party, on Tuesday, brought the case for his political revival to some of the most influential figures in US foreign policy.

Musharraf told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York he believed he had “an even chance” of returning to political power in his country’s 2013 general election and would seek to attract support of those who do not normally vote.

The former military chief, who came to power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, announced last month in London that he had created a new party, the All Pakistan Muslim League. He has lived in self-imposed exile since he stepped down under threat of impeachment in 2008.

Pakistan was facing a leadership crisis and “no political party (there) today can handle the situation,” he said.

“Even getting 25 percent of the non-voters out could break (Pakistan) away from the politics of dynastic rule that brings the country down,” he said in a clear reference to the administration of President Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

In his announcement in London, Musharraf apologized for “wrong decisions” made as president. He became embroiled in a fight with the judiciary and imposed a state of emergency in 2007.

Musharraf stopped short of calling for another military takeover of Islamabad, but indicated that he understood why Pakistanis considered it an option.

“Unfortunately, democracy in Pakistan has not taken root,” he said. “Public opinion against the government is very negative … (Pakistanis) then start talking about the army,
but I’m talking about democracy and constitutional (change).”

FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS
Asked to outline his election strategy, Musharraf said he planned to mobilize the 60 percent of the Pakistani electorate — the middle class, women, youth and minorities — who currently stayed away from the polls.

Musharraf suggested that he was already winning some of that support. His Facebook page had attracted 350,000 fans, up to 85 percent of whom were younger Pakistanis under 34, he said.

In addition, a recent three-hour telethon in London raised $3 million.
Musharraf dismissed threats of legal action or personal danger if he returned, saying that his opponents were trying to scare him because they didn’t want him to go back. “No risk, no gain,” he said. “I am prepared to take these risks.”

“It’s certainly a difficult task (to win) … but I see it as better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.”

Questioned about the controversial US drone attacks that are estimated to have killed more than 200 people in North and South Waziristan since the start of 2010, Musharraf said he agreed with Washington that these strikes targeted al Qaeda and Taliban militants.

However, Pakistanis were conflicted about them because of indiscriminate collateral damage and because they do not want their sovereignty violated.

His support for the US-led war in Afghanistan was deeply unpopular. – Reuters

French detain five suspects in terror network probe

PARIS: French police have detained five people suspected of a role in a network that allegedly sends French citizens to the tribal zone bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan to train for war, a security official and the Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday.

Two of the five were detained Tuesday morning at Charles de Gaulle airport, north of Paris, on their return to France, the prosecutor’s office said. The other three were picked up in the capital on Monday afternoon.

The five (four men and a woman ranging in age from 25 to 30) were detained at the request of several special anti-terrorist judges, the prosecutor’s office said.

A security official said the suspects were questioned as part of a probe of a network of French fighters sent to the lawless tribal zones of western Pakistan where the Taliban militia flourish.

One of them was also being questioned about an alleged criminal plot to target the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, the prominent moderate Dalil Boubakeur, the official said. The mosque said in September that armed guards had been assigned to Boubakeur because of an unspecified threat against him.

The suspects are being questioned by police and intelligence agency officers, said the official, close to the investigation. He spoke on condition of anonymity since he is not authorized to publicly discuss ongoing investigations.

Since September, France has been especially vigilant on terrorism-linked matters following warnings including one in a recent audio message from Osama bin Laden that French citizens were targets for al-Qaida. Citizens who leave home to train in terrorist techniques are of particular concern for France and other European countries. – AP

No charges for destroying interrogation tapes: US

WASHINGTON: No criminal charges will be filed against US intelligence officials accused of destroying videotapes showing CIA interrogations of terror suspects, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

In a statement, the department said that after an “exhaustive investigation” an official heading the probe decided that he “will not pursue criminal charges” for the destruction of the tapes, which are believed to have been filmed at secret CIA prisons.

In January 2008, then-US attorney general Michael Mukasey opened an inquiry into the revelation a few weeks earlier that the CIA three years earlier had destroyed tapes showing harsh interrogations of two Al-Qaeda suspects.

The interrogations were said to have occurred in the months following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

At the time the probe was launched, then-CIA director Michael Hayden said the tapes had been destroyed to protect the identities of intelligence agents charged with interrogating the suspects.

Some US lawmakers and international rights campaigners dismissed the explanation however, charging that the destruction of the tapes was meant to cover up alleged detainee torture. — AFP

ICC ready to come to ‘death-threat’ Haider’s aid

LAHORE: Pakistan wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider has been offered “any help he needs” by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after his decision to retire citing death threats.

However, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the global governing body could only help Haider if “he is willing to engage with us”.

The 24-year-old failed to report in Dubai for Pakistan’s one-day international against South Africa and subsequently flew to London having, Haider said, refused to take part in an alleged fixing plot.

An ICC statement said: “The ICC has today (Tuesday) confirmed that it is in regular communication with the Pakistan Cricket Board and has offered to support the PCB in its current investigations into the reasons behind wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider’s decision to leave the Pakistan team on the morning of the final ODI (one-day international) against South Africa in Dubai.

“At the same time, the ICC has also offered Haider, who left the UAE (United Arab Emirates) for London, any help he needs.”Lorgat added: “Clearly this is in the first instance a team matter for Pakistan cricket but the ICC is willing to provide assistance to the PCB and the player.

“We understand his plight if reports are indeed true, but we can only help if he is willing to engage with us.”The latest scandal to hit Pakistan cricket follows a slew of spot and match-fixing allegations, and disciplinary problems.

PCB officials said said they had informed Dubai police of Haider’s disappearance while Sky Television later broadcast images that it said were of Haider arriving at London’s Heathrow Airport.

“I am retiring from international cricket,” Haider told Pakistan’s Geo television by telephone from London.

“There is too much pressure on me, I have received death threats, my family has received threats,” he said in the interview, without naming anyone or elaborating in precise detail on why he was threatened.

The wicket-keeper said he was threatened in the team’s hotel in Dubai, after playing a crucial knock of 19 not out in Pakistan’s victory over South Africa in thre fourth ODI in the UAE on Friday.

“When I went out of the hotel to eat dinner once he came up. He was alone but I felt there were two-three people behind him. I can describe him. He spoke Urdu but I cannot describe the accent accurately,” Haider said.

“He said ‘You will make lots of money if you join us and help us. If not, then staying in the team could be difficult and we can make things difficult for you.’ I don’t know why I was approached and others weren’t.”

The PCB will investigate Haider’s case and said he should have told managers about the threats, but the keeper said he kept quiet to protect other players.

“If I had told the PCB or players, it would’ve gotten out and then who knows? If I had told any of the other players, it might have put them in trouble also,” he said.

Haider, who made his international debut in 2007, played one Test, four one-day internationals and three Twenty20 games for Pakistan.

He played a gutsy knock of 88 in the Birmingham Test that prevented an innings defeat on Pakistan’s tour of England in August, before he was sent home after injuring his finger. -AFP

Hadiqa, Aisam become UNDP’s goodwill envoys

ISLAMABAD: Pop singer Hadiqa Kiani and tennis player Aisamul Haq Qureshi have been appointed ‘Goodwill Ambassadors’ for Pakistan’s early recovery effort from the unprecedented floods.

The two stars will use their celebrity status and broad appeal to help the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) raise the profile of needs of more than 20 million people starting to rebuild their lives after the floods that have devastated the country since July, a UNDP press release says.

Hadiqa and Aisam will deliver messages of support for early recovery efforts as UNDP mounts efforts in 39 of the worst affected areas of the country to restore livelihoods through job creation, repair of basic community infrastructure and strengthening of local government offices to get public services running again.

“UNDP is helping communities affected by the floods rebuild their lives and I am proud to add my personal commitment to these efforts,” said Hadiqa, who has already helped UNDP raise awareness of environmental issues through her songs.

“It is important for me to help people who lost everything because of the floods to get back on their feet,” said Aisam. “I am honoured to become a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNDP in Pakistan.”

“UNDP is very pleased that Hadiqa and Aisamul Haq have come on board as our first national goodwill ambassadors in Pakistan,” said UNDP Country Director Toshihiro Tanaka.