Cold is cold, whether it is in summer or winter : Aslam Raisani

Chief Minister Baluchistan Nawab Aslam Raisani has said that "Cold is cold, whether it is in summer or winter" (Urdu: سردی سردی ہوتی ہے، چاہے ونٹر ہو یا گرمی ہو) (Roman Urdu: Sardi sardi hoti hay, chahay winter ho ya garmi ho). He was answering a query by a journalist about Gawadar being declared the provincial winter capital.

 

Similarly, on a previous occasion he has presented the theory that "Degree is a degree, whether it is original or fake" (Urdu: ڈگری ڈگری ہوتی ہے، چاہے اصلی ہو یا نقلی ہو) (Roman Urdu: Degree degree hoti hay, chahay asli ho ya naqli ho).

Ijaz Butt's nuts are loose : Afridi's Spokesman

Former Pakistan Captain Shahid Afridi's legal counsel and spokesman, Syed Ali Zaffar, said that Mr. Ijaz Butt's nuts are loose, and he always speaks without thinking about the consequences.

Commenting on Ijaz Butt's statement that "Shahid Afridi is not a captaincy material", Ali Zaffar said "Ijaz Butt's statement that Shahid Afridi will not captain the Pakistan team again is not only very irresponsible but is like an order or direction to the governing council members (who choose the captain in consultation with the board chairman) and to the selection committee not to even consider him. In this regard, Mr Butt is usurping the authority of the governing council members and selection committee and is clearly acting illegally."

Ali Zaffar futher said, "Afridi can take him to court if he so chooses. I will however add that I have had no discussion with Afridi in this regard. Mr Ijaz Butt's nuts are loose as he virtually enjoys dictatorial powers."

Altaf Hussain's insult is the insult of the founders of Paksitan : Muhajir Rabita Council

The General Secretary of Muhajir Rabita Council Arshad Siddqui has said Zulfiqar Mirza had insulted the founders of Pakistan by calling MQM Chief Altaf Hussain a criminal. Therefore, Zulfiqar Mirza should come on the media and apologize to MQM Chief Altaf Hussain.

Arshad Siddiqui said that the apology from Rehman Malik is not acceptable and MQM workers want Zulfiqar Mirza to apologize to the MQM chief.

He said that President Asif Ali Zardari should take immediate action and remove Zulfiqar Mirza from his post and if the President did not remove Mirza than he would be responsible for the ensuing situation.

PPP government ready to celebrate after crossing the Rs 3 trillion corruption mark

Pakistan Peoples Party lead Federal Government is all set to kick off celebrations across the country, after costing the nation more than Rs. 3000 billion in only three years of rule. This is indeed a record breaking achievement and an indication of consistency, Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) Advisory Committee Chairman Adil Gilani told the media.

Mr. Adil Gilani said these corruption figures do not include the loot and plunder of the national wealth in the mega scandals like Pakistan Steel Mills scam, NICL plunder, Haj swindle, rental power plants fraud and many more.

The trends of surveys and studies conducted by the Transparency International Pakistan show gradual increase in corruption in Pakistan during the last three years, Gilani said and added this fact could be confirmed from the country’s ranking in TI Corruption Perception Index. “Conservative figure for last three years are more than a trillion rupees per annum with 15-20 percent annual increase,” Gilani said.

He said that the height of corruption in Pakistan during the last three years could be judged from its position sliding down incredibly from 47th in 2008 to 42nd in 2009 and 34th in 2010.

The TIP executive explained that in 2009, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) corruption was at least Rs500 billion as per the statement of the then finance minister Shaukat Tareen whereas the state enterprises like PIA, Wapda, Pakistan Steel Mills and Railways eat up Rs300 billion of taxpayers. In 2009, he explained that the TIP reported the increase in corruption in the last three years by 400 percent and quoted the figure of Rs195 billion in 2009, which increased to Rs225 billion in 2010 as the money that went in petty corruption.

The total corruption in the above three categories alone, according to Gilani, makes the figure of corrupted money over Rs3,000 billion during the last three years.

However, Gilani clarified that these huge corruption figures do not include the massive corruption in the land department and government procurements in entities like National Highway Authority, Oil and Gas Development Corporation Limited, Sui Southern Gas Pipelines Limited, Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited, Karachi Port Trust, Port Qasim Authority, Civil Aviation Authority, National Insurance Corporation Limited, Pepco, Erra, SVBP, NBP, CDA, Ministry of Defence, Defence Housing Authority, National Logistics Cell, PSO, PNSC, Cantonment Boards, etc.

The roller-coaster relation between Pakistan and US

The latest dip in Pak-US relations and the consequent suspension of $800 million US military aid to Pakistan is the seventh such instance during the last 56 years, meaning thereby that an impasse has greeted the roller-coaster relationship between the two countries after every eight years since 1955.

Practical cooperation between the Pakistan and US had commenced with the inking of the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) or the Baghdad Pact in February 1955.

Pakistan had basically signed the Baghdad Pact after the US had promised it ‘generous’ military and economic aid packages. The Baghdad Pact was aimed at containing the former USSR from developing a line of strong states along its south-western borders. This resulted in nearly $50 million in military grants, $19 million in defence support assistance and $ five million in cash or commercial purchases between 1955 and 1965 from US.

The first time when the US military aid to Pakistan was suspended, was during the 1965 Pak-India War. The second time it happened in 1971 when Pakistan and India were again at the battlefront. In 1972, after the then US President Nixon had visited China for the first time - a tour facilitated by Pakistan - Islamabad started receiving money again from Washington DC as probably 'service charges'.

In April 1979, the United States cut off its military assistance to Pakistan for the third time under the 1977 Symington Amendment to the US Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. This halt was triggered by the US concerns over Pakistan’s nuclear program.

In December 1979, after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the US offered $400 million worth of military aid to Pakistan. The offer was turned down by the General Ziaul Haq’s, as he called it 'peanuts'.

In 1981, Pakistan and the United States agreed on a $3.2 billion military and economic assistance program aimed at helping Pakistan deal with the heightened threat to security in the region and its development needs.

Accepting Pakistan’s assurances that it did not intend to make a nuclear bomb, the US Congress waived restrictions under the Symington Amendment on military assistance to Pakistan and in March 1986, the two countries agreed on a second multi-year (1988-93) $4 billion economic development and security assistance program.

The US aid had basically swelled from $60 million in economic and development assistance in 1979 to more than $600 million a year in the mid-1980s. The military aid was in addition to the $3.1 billion economic assistance for Islamabad.

But before the ink of Geneva agreement for Soviet with drawl from Afghanistan dried in 1990, US military assistance was again suspended under the provisions of the Pressler Amendment. However, in 1995, the Brown Amendment authorized a one-time delivery of US military equipment worth $368 million to Pakistan.

The Pak-US relations again deteriorated after Pakistan conducted its May 28, 1998 nuclear tests. Sanctions resulted under the Glenn Amendment and curbs were imposed on the provision of credits, military sales, economic assistance and loans to Pakistan.

The dethroning of former two-time premier Nawaz Sharif by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999 gave the US government another ‘valid excuse’ to invoke new sanctions on Pakistan under the Foreign Appropriations Act. Only funds for the refugee and counter-narcotics assistance were given after Musharraf’s October 1999 adventure. 

It is imperative to note that between 2002 and 2010, Pakistan has received approximately $18 billion in military and economic aid from the United States. In February 2010, the Obama administration had requested for an additional $3 billion in aid for Pakistan, taking the total US assistance figures to $20.7 billion.

However, the US has again suspended Pakistan aid mainly due to the exclusion of US trainers from Pakistan.

Girlfriends are responsible for 70% killings in Karachi : Rehman Malik

Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has revealed that the reported figure of deaths in Karachi due to target killing is not accurate. He said that when it is reported that 100 people were killed due to target killing investigations would reveal that only 30 were its victims while 70 others died due to their girlfriends.

Loadshedding to continue for one more decade : Chairman WAPDA

Chairman WAPDA Shakeel Durrani said that electricity loadshedding will continue for one more decade.

Chairman WAPDA told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Water and Power that the difference between demand and supply can only be eliminated after a decade. However, he was not sure about the increase in electricity demand during the same period.