PAKISTAN-DAILY BRIEF NEWS: LATEST NEWS UPDATE: 26.06.2012

PAKISTAN-DAILY BRIEF NEWS: LATEST NEWS UPDATE: 26.06.2012: Gen John Allen to visit Pakistan for Nato route talks ISLAMABAD:  General John Allen, top US commander stationed in Afghanistan, is ...

LATEST NEWS UPDATE: 26.06.2012

Gen John Allen to visit Pakistan for Nato route talks

ISLAMABAD:  General John Allen, top US commander stationed in Afghanistan, is expected to arrive in Pakistan on Wednesday to discuss the restoration of Nato supply routes, DawnNews reported.
General Allen will meet Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani to discuss the restoration. General Allen and Kayani will oversee the developments on implementation of cross-border contact as well.
Restoration of Nato supply routes will remain the foremost priority during the meeting.
Nato supply routes have been closed since November 2011, when Nato air strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
US and Pakistani diplomats frequently discuss the restoration; however, no viable solution has been reached.

LATEST/BRIEF  NEWS:

·       PM convenes first Cabinet meeting Tue

·       Ch Pervez Elahi appointed Deputy PM

·       13 Pak soldiers killed in Lower Dir

·       Quetta: Terrorists, bombs, arms seized

·       New bank theft software hits 3continents

·       S Korea to suspend Iranian oil imports

·       Pre-monsoonal rains to begin from today

·       Gen Allen expected to meet Kayani tomorrow

·       India claims arresting Mumbai attacks handler

·        UN declares Pakistan poppy-free country

·        Banks to remain closed on July 2

·       US awards edu scholarships to 147 KP students

·       Nawaz off to Karachi today

Business News:

Banks invest 99pc money in govt papers KARACHI: How the debt-ridden government has changed the entire banking in the country was obvious from a latest report of the State Bank which showed that banks have just loaned 1.2 per cent of what they invested in government securities during a year. This massive tilt of banks towards government kept the banks profitable, but the impact was disastrous as banks did not help the economy to grow. The SBP reported that banks invested about 99 per cent of their available liquidity in government papers during May 2011 to May 2012, completely ignoring the private sector, the growth engine for an economy. The cash-starved government never came out from the budgetary deficit for the last four years and chose banks to meet the revenue gap. It never allowed bringing down the policy interest rate below single digit which may put it into competition with the private sector. The private sector said the high cost of money did not allow them to think for new projects’ expansions or renovations. This high cost of money produced huge defaults. According to State Bank’s another report, non-performing loans of banks and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) till March 2012 were Rs625 billion. This huge defaults forced banks to find an easy way to earn risk-free money by investing in government papers. The State Bank reported that during a year (May 2011 to May 2012) scheduled banks’ loans to private sector were just Rs11 billion while banks invested Rs873 billion in government papers during the same period. The government did not stop borrowing from the banking system as fiscal gap rose to 4.7 per cent of GDP till the end of third quarter of the current fiscal year. The State Bank, in its third quarterly report issued on Friday, said that fiscal gap could be as high as 6.5 per cent of the GDP for the current fiscal year, ending on June 30, indicating another massive outflow of liquidity from banks to the government. Since the government has no other option to increase revenue, it is believed that the entire fiscal burden would be on banking liquidity, including printing of money by the State Bank. So far, the government has failed to tap resources outside the country while revenue growth is not enough to meet the expenditures of the war-hit government with a poor growth rate of just 3.7 per cent. The State Bank’s report reveals that total investment in government securities came close to total loans extended to private sector by scheduled banks. This vital change came in the last four years. According to the report, the stock of investment in government securities rose to Rs2.730 trillion in May-12 while stock of loans to private sector was Rs2.770 trillion at the same date. Though the grim situation is being realised by both banks and State Bank, the government seems to enter the debt-trap while its reliance on easy banking money has been increasing each year.  Tue, 26 Jun 2012 - Wall Street tumbles on European summit skepticism NEW YORK: Stocks fell sharply on Monday, putting the SP 500 near break-even for June so far, as investors saw lit - Microsoft to buy online social network Yammer for $1.2 billion SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp agreed to buy online social network firm Yammer Inc for $1.2 billion in cash, which will a - Two-day gas loadshedding proposal for Sindh ISLAMABAD: The decision on the proposal about two-day weekly suspension of gas supply to CNG sector and industries - Bank Holiday on July 2, 2012 KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and all offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation, inclusive of Public Deb - Asian markets slip on EU summit concerns HONG KONG: Asian markets fell Monday on pessimism over the likelihood that a European summit this week will come u - Oil up in Asia on Gulf of Mexico supply disruption SINGAPORE: Crude prices rose in Asia on Monday as the onset of Tropical Storm Debby forced oil and gas operators i - Euro weakens in Asia ahead of EU summit TOKYO: The euro weakened in Asia on Monday as traders looked for safer assets amid concern ahead of a European Uni - Slash in petroleum prices proposed again ISLAMABAD: Petroleum prices throughout the country are expected to reduce by Rs3 from July 1, Geo News reported Sa - Pakistan?s GDP growth encouraging: SBP report KARACHI: Pakistan s economic growth of 3.7 percent during FY12 is higher than 3.0 percent realized in previous yea - SBP to buy govt. paper in reverse repos KARACHI: Pakistan s central bank said it would buy government paper from commercial banks on Friday in seven-day a - Dollar slips in Asian trade TOKYO: The dollar slipped in Asian trade Friday following falls on Wall Street triggered by worries over global gr - Asian markets slip on US losses, weak manufacturing HONG KONG: Asian markets slipped Thursday following big losses on Wall Street in the wake of weak manufacturing da - Oil up in Asia on short-covering SINGAPORE: Oil prices inched up in Asian trade Friday as wary traders bought up cheap crude to recoup some of thei - Pakistan rupee loses vs dollar; o/n rates unchanged KARACHI: In the currency market, the rupee weakened to close at 94.36/41 to the dollar, compared to 94.21/26 on We - Karachi stocks fall ahead of prime minister election KARACHI: Country s apex bourse closed lower on Thursday amid fresh political uncertainty ahead of a vote to elect

MOHAMMED SALEEM MANSOORI

PAKISTAN-DAILY BRIEF NEWS: LATEST NEWS UPDATE: 25.06.2012

PAKISTAN-DAILY BRIEF NEWS: LATEST NEWS UPDATE: 25.06.2012: President’s immunity and dual posts challenged in SC ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari’s immunity and dual posts held by hi...

LATEST NEWS UPDATE: 25.06.2012

President’s immunity and dual posts challenged in SC

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari’s immunity and dual posts held by him were challenged in the Supreme Court on Monday, DawnNews reported.
Advocate Mahmood Akhtar Naqvi has filed a petition against the immunity and dual positions held by the President.
The petitioner has referred to Article 33 of the constitution of Pakistan and said that president of the country cannot hold two offices.
President Asif Ali Zardari is also serving as the co-chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Naqvi is of the view that holding two offices is wrong on President Zardari’s part.

Rehman Malik protests Afghan militant incursion

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to prime minister on interior affairs, Abdul Rehman Malik on Monday expressed his grievances to Afghanistan over the Afghan militant attack on Pakistani security personnel in Upper Dir area on Sunday, DawnNews reported.
Malik contacted the Afghan Interior Minister to submit his complaint over the incident and blamed Afghan authorities for not preventing the cross border movement of militants into Pakistan.
A cross border attack by Afghan militants in Upper Dir area resulted in the deaths of 10 security personnel whereas another 10 were missing.
Pakistan security forces killed 15 militants in retaliatory action.
The security forces’ team was patrolling on the Pak-Afghan border when it was attacked by the militants who crossed the border. Sources said that the team was sent to the location on the information of militant presence in the area.

Parliament will decide on NATO route: PM

 KARACHI: Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said Sunday that the solution of the country’s problems is Parliament and democracy. Prime Minister Ashraf was speaking to the media following his visit to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum.
The new prime minister when asked about NATO supplies replied that the decision would be made by the Parliament.
Ashraf added that his government would be paying special attention to the energy crisis and the law and order situation. “We are giving priority to law and order issues,” Ashraf said.
The new prime minister emphasised that neither he nor his party believed in the politics on confrontation and would continue to pursue the policy of reconciliation.
Earlier, PM Ashraf visited the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah along with Sindh Governor Dr Isratul Ebad Khan, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Federal Ministers Qamar Zaman Kaira, Manzoor Wattoo and others.
The Prime Minister laid floral wreath on the mausoleum and offered fateha. It was the first visit of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf after being elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

LATEST/BRIEF  NEWS:

·       26/11 key suspect held at Delhi airport

·       Key plotter of Mumbai Attacks arrested: Indian police

·       Firing incident kills three in Karachi

·       Five more bodies found in Karachi

·        Pakistan, China cooperating in space technology

·       Democracy intact, says Raja

·       Gilanis actions given legal cover

·       Pakistan proposes steps to reduce trade gap with Bangladesh

·       ANF conducting raids to arrest Musa in drug case

·       Traders suffered Rs1.5 billion losses last month

·       Chinese keen to invest in Pakistan

·       New PM should write Swiss letter, says Naheed

Business News:

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 - Oil up in Asia on Gulf of Mexico supply disruption SINGAPORE: Crude prices rose in Asia on Monday as the onset of Tropical Storm Debby forced oil and gas operators - Asian markets slip on EU summit concerns HONG KONG: Asian markets fell Monday on pessimism over the likelihood that a European summit this week will come u - Euro weakens in Asia ahead of EU summit TOKYO: The euro weakened in Asia on Monday as traders looked for safer assets amid concern ahead of a European Uni - Slash in petroleum prices proposed again ISLAMABAD: Petroleum prices throughout the country are expected to reduce by Rs3 from July 1, Geo News reported Sa - Pakistan?s GDP growth encouraging: SBP report KARACHI: Pakistan s economic growth of 3.7 percent during FY12 is higher than 3.0 percent realized in previous year - SBP to buy govt. paper in reverse repos KARACHI: Pakistan s central bank said it would buy government paper from commercial banks on Friday in seven-day a - Dollar slips in Asian trade TOKYO: The dollar slipped in Asian trade Friday following falls on Wall Street triggered by worries over global gr - Asian markets slip on US losses, weak manufacturing HONG KONG: Asian markets slipped Thursday following big losses on Wall Street in the wake of weak manufacturing data - Oil up in Asia on short-covering SINGAPORE: Oil prices inched up in Asian trade Friday as wary traders bought up cheap crude to recoup some of their - Pakistan rupee loses vs dollar; o/n rates unchanged KARACHI: In the currency market, the rupee weakened to close at 94.36/41 to the dollar, compared to 94.21/26 on We - Karachi stocks fall ahead of prime minister election KARACHI: Country s apex bourse closed lower on Thursday amid fresh political uncertainty ahead of a vote to elect - Pakistan forex reserves fall to $15.0465 billion ISLAMABAD: Pakistan s foreign exchange reserves fell to $15.0465 billion in the week ending June 15from $15.417 bi - Microfinancers allowed funds from NBFCs, capital market KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed microfinance providers (MFPs) to mobilize funding from non-b - Oil down in Asia SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell in Asian trade Thursday on rising US crude stockpiles as traders lamented the lack of f - Euro slips, dollar rises in Asian trade TOKYO: The euro slipped in Asian trade Thursday on concerns Spain s troubled banks may need a bigger bailout, while

MOHAMMED SALEEM MANSOORI