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Clinton arriving today
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in
Islamabad on Thursday for talks with Pakistani leaders aimed at jump-starting
a troubled relationship.Secretary Clinton, who was in Kabul on Wednesday, and her team are expected to meet Pakistan’s civil and military leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The visit is her own initiative and has been portrayed in the US media as “a list-ditch effort” to salvage America’s partnership with Pakistan. She is coming at a time when US-Pakistan relations have plunged to a new low following accusations by senior American officials that the Inter-Services Intelligence agency is using the Haqqani network to wage a proxy war in Afghanistan and to attack US and foreign forces. It also takes place against the backdrop of a reported US and Afghan troop build-up along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. On Wednesday, State Department’s spokesman Mark Toner told a briefing in Washington that the US wanted to engage Pakistan constructively and was also seeking to improve relations between Pakistan and India and Pakistan and Afghanistan. “We need good relations between Pakistan and India. We need good, constructive relations between India and Afghanistan, between Afghanistan and Pakistan so that all three countries can prosper and increase stability and peace in the area,” he said. “Certainly, an important element of that in Pakistan and elsewhere is strengthening democratic institutions and democratic governance.” CIA Director David Petraeus, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen Martin Dempsey and Under-Secretary of Defence for Policy Michele Flournoy will join Secretary Clinton in Islamabad.
Expo
begins today Pakistan likely to secure $100m orders
KARACHI: Over 600 foreign dignitaries
from 52 countries representing different sectors will participate in the Expo
Pakistan beginning today (Thursday) at the Karachi Expo Centre.
Briefing the media about the event TDAP chief executive Tariq Puri said
that the 6th Expo Pakistan to be opened by Minister of Commerce Makhdoom Amin
Fahim will have international flavor because the Chinese pavilion will be
centre of attraction to mark the 60th anniversary of Pak China relations.He said that there will also be a Japanese pavilion to celebrate Pak-Japan 60th anniversary of bilateral relations falling next year. The TDAP chief said in total 300 stalls were booked, out of which 10 booths will be displaying Chinese goods, including electric bicycle and 15 stalls belong to Japanese products. The remaining 275 stalls are booked by local producers. He further said that the TDAP expected that around $100 million worth of export orders would be booked during the 4-day mega event. This will be improvement over last expo when the country got $80 million business. Tariq Puri said that on the sidelines of the Expo there will be investment conference being jointly organised by TDAP and Board of Investment (BoI). He disclosed that the representatives of 13 bilateral business forums will be attending the conference and there is highly encouraging response from the international community. Mr Puri said the focus of the expo this year is on non-textile sectors and commercial councilors of Pakistan the world over were specifically advised to concentrate on non-traditional products. Therefore, the stalls booked by local producers will have diversified products on display.The 4-day event will be equally divided for visits by foreign buyers and for general public. Spot sales will also be allowed. When the Expo Pakistan was planned the city of Karachi was witnessing unrest but today there is a festive mood and the event has given impetus to allied trades and to hotel industry. Responding to a question Tariq Puri said that the cost of the event had been cut from over Rs120 million to Rs100 million. The income earned by the TDAP from space rent of stalls is Rs15 million and this year no complimentary stalls have been given to any organisation. The TDAP will now concentrate on value addition in agriculture produce, minerals, stones, plastic and chemicals However, he admitted that many foreign buyers were coming as state guests and their boarding and lodging and air fair cost is being met by TDAP.
US,
Pakistan share Afghan peace goal: Haqqani
WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani
said Pakistan and the United States had a shared interest in a stable
Afghanistan but the major challenge for both countries was to find common
ground by taking into account political realities within Pakistan as well as
Afghanistan.He was delivering a lecture at the University of California, Berkeley. Pakistan, the ambassador said, viewed the process of reconciliation in Afghanistan as a significant way to move forward. “Afghanistan has its own history and its future could best be led and shaped by the people of Afghanistan,” he noted. Mr Haqqani said Pakistan believed America would benefit more by supporting the reconciliatory approach within Afghan society including the religiously conservative elements. Commenting on the current state of Pakistan-US relations, he said there were problems but they were not at a point where abandonment would be seen as the final answer by either side. Pakistan’s democratic government, he said, was committed to working towards the elimination of terrorism at a time and pace that worked within its social and political order. He said Pakistan could not undertake military operations that could have a blowback for the country without achieving the ultimate objective of defeating terror. Mr Haqqani hoped that Pakistan and the United States would be able to have a joint strategy for achieving the objective of creating a stable Afghanistan in a way that Pakistan’s concerns were also accommodated. The ambassador, speaking at a time of serious strains in the US-Pakistan ties, termed the ‘handling of two parallel narratives’ as the biggest challenge to the bilateral relationship. The two countries, he said, need to come out of the current “event-dictated” mode of relations. On Pakistan’s internal situation, he said only a continuation of the democratic process could evolve a vibrant system which was able to meet both internal and external challenges. Democracy would enable the Pakistani nation to adopt the 21st century outlook, he remarked.
Business News
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Thu, 20 October 2011
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Asian markets fall on eurozone, US fears
As traders nervously awaited a weekend summit of European Union leaders, there were concerns that a plan to deal with the region"s crisis would not be far-reaching enoug |
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Oil prices mixed in Asian trade
In morning trade, New York"s main contract, light sweet crude crude for November delivery, was down eight cents at $86...03 a barrel, extending sharp falls i |
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Dollar, euro rangebound ahead of Fed speeches
The euro was at $1...3763 and 105...74 yen in Tokyo, up from |
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CNG suspended for 3 days in Faisalabad region
The supply was st |
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Rs...5 billion more issued for PSO
It is to be mention |
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Yasin Anwar appointed new SBP Governor
Earlier reports said three names were being |
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Euro edges higher against dollar
The European single unit edged up to $1...3767 in Tokyo trade from $1...3752 in New York late Tuesday... But the unit slipped to 105...55 |
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Asian shares rise on Wall St lead, Europe hopes
T |
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Crude mixed in Asia after Wall Street gains
Brent North Sea crude for December delivery |
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Local bourse slides 63 points
The Karachi Stock Exchange |
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