Pakistan, US share common interest: US
WASHINGTON: The United States (US) said that after the restoration of
NATO supply lines, the relationships with Pakistan are making progress, Geo
News reported Friday.According to the State Department spokesman, the first few trucks carrying supplies to American and NATO troops in Afghanistan crossed the Pakistani border Thursday after a seven-month closure of the supply routes. This is the evidence of Pakistan’s support for safe, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan.
The spokesman further said that progress in relations with Pakistan is among the US priorities as both the countries have common interests.
Pakistan closed the supply routes in retaliation for the US airstrikes in November that killed 24 Pakistani troops.
After the US apologised for the killings, Pakistani government decided to reopen the Ground Lines of Communications (GLOCs) after which the US-Pakistan relationships have witnessed an improvement.
Wapda supply to KESC to be suspended: Plan to ‘re-rent’ 185MW from RPPs
ISLAMABAD: With power sector’s payables touching a record Rs477 billion, the government is expecting to bring into use about 1,745MW of power generation capacity before Ramazan by suspending 650MW supply to the Karachi Electric Supply Company and re-renting 185MW from defunct rental power plants (RPP).An emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy headed by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh held on the directives of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf discussed various measures to ensure continuous power supply between Iftar and Taraweeh.
The meeting was informed that with improved river flows and the onset of monsoon season, about 1,000MW of additional hydropower generation would be available while 650MW currently being provided by Wapda to the KESC would also be diverted to the former’s own system.
An official said the KESC was facing severe criticism for keeping its two plants shut and instead using cheaper supplies from Wapda on the premise that it was not getting adequate gas supplies.
The meeting decided to provide furnace oil to the KESC to bring into production its two closed plants and suspend Wapda supplies to Karachi.
It also decided in principle to utilise about 185MW from RPPs whose contracts had been cancelled by the Supreme Court. The court had also ordered an inquiry against all people involved in the process of hiring RPPs.
With these additions, the government estimates the total generation would reach 15,745MW. The meeting was informed that the power generation on Thursday stood at about 12,940MW and demand at 18,713MW, a shortfall of about 5,773MW.
As some members of the cabinet committee were in a hurry, it decided to meet again on Monday and give a final shape to the plan, including release of subsidy by the finance ministry. In the meanwhile, the water and power ministry has been asked to reconcile its figures on receivables, payables and subsidy requirements.
The meeting was informed that a commitment about supplying 207mmcfd of gas made by the petroleum ministry a few days ago had not materialised. However, furnace oil supply which averaged 14,300 tons in June was being increased to 28,000 tons which would help increase total generation to 14,000MW by next week.
A key question about the recovery of receivables, however, remained unanswered. The finance ministry was critical of inability of the power sector to recover its bills. The meeting agreed to release about Rs20 billion to the Pakistan State Oil to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies.
Extremism great threat to democracy in Pakistan, India, says Indian writer
A strong democratic Pakistan will deter extremist Hindu forces in India from achieving their fascist objectives, stated Indian author and pro-democracy activist Professor Ram Puniyani, as he addressed a hall packed with journalists at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday.Puniyani said that despite the differences between India and Pakistan, the two countries affected each others’ internal politics. “If anything goes wrong in India, fingers are pointed towards Pakistan and the same happens from the other side.”
Hindu communal politics in India drew their strength from everything that was wrong with Pakistan, he believed.
Sharing his views on secularism, Puniyani noted that in Pakistan, the term had acquired in an incorrect connotation as people often mistook it for Godlessness, which was not the case. “The word secularism is considered a Gali (expletive) in Pakistan, which is unfortunate, as it’s just the idea that any religious ideology won’t govern matters of the state.”
Puniyani was highly critical of the rising dominance of Hindu extremism in Indian politics and acknowledged that over the last decade, these forces gained momentum and strengthened their position in society. “The same is the case with Pakistan, where religious fanatics not only continue to target minorities, but also various other sects within Islam.”
Although the formal political set-up in India was secular democracy, Puniyani said that organisations like Rashtra Samaj Savek – which actively recruited volunteers to infiltrate the establishment through the bureaucracy and military – were “elements that are constantly at work to derail Indian democracy”.
The Indian author mentioned the riots that took place after the demolition of the Babri Mosque, in which 80 percent of casualties reported were Muslims. “The population of Muslims in Mumbai was 17 percent in the early ‘90s and their property, worth around 10 billion rupees, was destroyed. Over in Gujarat, a meticulous pogrom was underway, which was nothing less than an ethnic cleansing drive against Muslims,” Puniyani said.
He pointed out that blaming Pakistan had become a matter of routine for the Indian security establishment and now the more progressive people of the country refused to believe the claims of law-enforcement agencies.
The professor mentioned the Malegaon blast in 2006, in which an Indian military official was suspected of planting the bomb. “The accused actually stole RDX from the Indian military cache and used it in the bombing.”
He reiterated that democracy was the best way to confront the nefarious actors that were against peace in the region. Both India and Pakistan both worked their way to establish sustainable and transparent democracy, which was the only way towards a prosperous South Asia.
APP adds: Prof Ram Punyani said strong democracy in Pakistan was very much in the interest of India and Pakistan.
“This will discourage extremism on both sides,” he said.
He underlined the need for increased interaction and cooperation among the people of the two neighbouring countries representing all walks of life, including trade, industry and culture.
He observed that there was visible lack of trust and love on both sides.
“We can make a good future by developing trust and understanding between the two nations.”
Puniyani emphasised that instead of having huge defence budgets, both the countries should spend the maximum funds on the people.
The Indian scholar requested the media on both sides to spread message of love, brotherhood and co-existence for
the good of the peoples of Pakistan and India, as well as for the progress and development of the entire region.
Answering a question, he said the Amn ki Asha peace initiative had left a very good impact in India, and the people were now thinking very positively about Pakistan.
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Business News:
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PER 10 GRAMS
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|
Fri,
6 Jul 2012
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