DAILY BUSINESS NEWS SUMMARY IN BRIEF: 30.05.2011

Business News

Monday, May 30, 2011 09:02
-	Asian shares hit by eurozone debt, market holidays
-	Euro eases against dollar
-	Oil down in Asia EU, IMF and ECB officials experts are in Greece now reviewing progress on its May 2010 bailout programme, and must report soon on whether to grant the next tranche of funds.(AFP)
-	POL prices likely to dip from June 1 per litre.
-	Perks termed burden on national kitty It was proposed in the report that a transparent mechanism be adopted for selection government employees and appraisal of their performance.
-	Gas supply resumes in Faisalabad
-	KSE-100 index gains 27.40 points In the money market, overnight rates edges slightly lower and closed at around 13.50 percent, compared with the previous day''s close of 13.90 percent. (Reuters)
-	Gas suspension continues for third day
-	Asian shares edge up but Tokyo hit by CPI data
-	Dollar falls in Asia over weak US data

Budget to be growth-oriented: Hafeez Shaikh

ISLAMABAD: The next budget will be growth-oriented with the main objective of promoting private sector to create job opportunities for the unemployed youth.This was stated by Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh while talking to PTV.

He said that the National Economic Council has approved the new growth strategy which will focus on enhancing economic growth rate and create job opportunities for youth.He hoped that under the new strategy, the GDP growth would be enhanced to create job opportunities.

The Minister for Finance said that projects of national economic importance like construction of dams, road networks, bridges and other infrastructure would be given priority in the next fiscal year.

The Minister said that the people who are paying taxes would be given special incentives in the next budget.

Dr Hafeez Shaikh said that the government would have to focus on reducing expenditures to achieve positive results in all sectors.

He said that the government had given subsidy on oil products, utility store items and electricity to facilitate the masses.

He said that a sum of Rs.32 billion had been provided by the government to Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

He said that loans which were taken by the past and present governments would have to be paid back.

He was of the view that the aids taken by any government should be utilized in feasible and result-oriented projects.

Dr.Hafeez Shaikh said that recent floods had shaken the economy and developmental projects.

He said that floods not only damaged the infrastructure but also destroyed the standing crops including rice and cotton.

He said that the government was bound to spend Rs 100 billion for relief and rehabilitation.He expressed the hope that next year budget would be growth oriented and business friendly.The minister said that useless expenditure must be avoided in future to achieve progress in all sectors. He urged all the institutions to focus on economic stability.

He said that exports had increased to Rs. 24 billion while remittances have crossed Rs.11 billion mark.

Consultation in progress with all parties: Gilani

LAHORE: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said here on Sunday that consultations were under way with all parties on an inquiry commission on the killing of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a US raid in Abbottabad and the government would take a `mature` decision.

Mr Gilani, who was talking to reporters at his residence here, refused to set a date for setting up the commission and said that deadlines were alien to political culture.
Replying to a question, he said PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had threatened to join an anti-government movement if the commission was not set up because he knew that it would be definitely set up.
Mr Gilani said Mr Sharif was the chief of his own party while he as prime minister had to take along all political forces.
He said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had visited the country to remove misunderstandings and she had endorsed Pakistan`s stance that people in the government were unaware of the presence of the Al Qaeda chief in the country.
He said report of the inquiry would reveal facts about the incident.
The prime minister said differences between ISI and the US Central Intelligence Agency had been resolved and cooperation between the two agencies against Al Qaeda and terrorism would continue.
He said the US had been told that Abbottabad-like unilateral operations were unacceptable and both sides had agreed to work out a joint strategy to avoid such incidents.
The prime minister said Pakistan and the United States had differences over the modalities of the use of drones. He said the US had been told that drone attacks were a violation of Pakistan`s sovereignty and counter-productive for efforts to eradicate terrorism. He said transfer of the drone technology was not possible without bridging the trust deficit between the two allies.
The government, he said, had asked the US to open up its markets for Pakistani products, instead of giving aid, and to cooperate in resolving the energy crisis.
The steps, he said, would enhance people-to-people contacts and a direct relief provided to people through improved power supplies would reduce Anti-American feelings in the country.
Answering a question about calls for removing the Pakistan Navy chief after the recent terrorist attack on the PNS Mehran base, he said such steps were not taken because of demands made by some people and he would do whatever would be in the best interest of the country.
He said the naval chief had himself requested the setting up of an independent commission to investigate the attack and a decision would be taken after considering all aspects.
Replying to a question, the prime minister said no-one had any aggressive designs against the country and Pakistan was not so weak that it would not be able to defend itself.

Pakistan to launch operation in N. Waziristan: report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to launch an air and ground military offensive in North Waziristan, the main sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban on the border with Afghanistan, a newspaper reported on Monday.

The United States has long demanded that Pakistan launch an offensive in the region to hunt down the Haqqani network, one of the deadliest Afghan militant factions fighting American troops in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has been reluctant, but has come under intense US pressure to attack militancy after it was discovered that Osama bin Laden had been living there.

The News newspaper quoted unnamed “highly placed sources” as saying Pakistani airforce planes would soften up militant targets under the “targeted military offensive” before ground operations were launched.

The newspaper said an understanding had been reached over the offensive during last week’s visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

A US embassy official said he was checking into the report. Pakistani officials were not immediately available for comment.

Pakistan has maintained that its troops were already too stretched fighting Pakistani Taliban insurgents in other parts of the northwest to tackle North Waziristan.

But analysts say Pakistan sees the Haqqani network as an asset to counter the growing influence of rival India in Afghanistan.

Ties with Pakistan crucial for Afghan war, says McCain

WASHINGTON: A senior American lawmaker said on Sunday that new tensions in US-Pakistan relations were contributing to a rapid decline in support for the Afghan war in the United States.

“Americans are war weary,” said Senator John McCain, who ran against President Barack Obama in 2008. “They see the president of Afghanistan appearing ungrateful. They see the government of Pakistan in a very aggressive fashion in many ways towards us,” he told Fox News.
Pakistan`s “continued relations with the Haqqani network and others” also worried the Americans, he added.
Despite such concerns, or perhaps because of them, US policy-makers, military leaders, and legislators remain deeply divided on America`s relations with Pakistan.
“I have real difficulty explaining to (American) people … what we`re doing spending billions of dollars in Pakistan … when they don`t like us,” said Senator James Risch, a Republican member of the Senate`s Foreign Relations Committee.
The pressure on the White House to take a tougher line with Pakistan mounted last week with a letter sent by five senators to the secretaries of state and defence. The letter demanded an assessment of Pakistan`s commitment to fight terrorism before Congress approves more aid.
But Senator John Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned that key US interests won`t be addressed by a simple split between the US and Pakistan. Instead, he hinted at the possibility of seeking Pakistan`s help to encourage the Haqqani network to join the Afghan reconciliation.
Senator Kerry also urged the two countries to “move beyond their strained relations” to a more mutually beneficial cooperation.
Senator Richard Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, argued that it was in the “US national security to have a stable” Pakistan as the two countries needed “continued engagement on terrorism and nuclear-security issues”.
At the State Department, spokesman Mark Toner noted that cooperation with Pakistan was also necessary for the success of US efforts to “move forward the Afghan-led reconciliation process”.
But the strongest defence for Pakistan came from US military leaders who, unlike the lawmakers, have avoided publicly censuring Pakistan over Osama bin Laden`s discovery in a Pakistani garrison city.
When an Indian journalist asked a Pentagon spokesman, Col Dave Lapan, if he believed that the attack last week on a naval facility in Karachi had also exposed the vulnerability of Pakistani nuclear arsenal, he said the weapons were safe.
“With all the information available to us, we can say that the arsenal is safe,” he added.
State Department`s Mark Toner endorsed this view.
“The safeguard and security of Pakistan`s nuclear weapons are of concern (and) it`s an issue that we discuss with the Pakistani government and we`re sure that they`re under safeguard.”
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates also disagreed with the suggestion that Bin Laden`s presence in Abbottabad had proved that the US assistance to Pakistan had been a waste.
“I do not think that the money that we have spent in Pakistan has been a waste. The reality is that Pakistan now has 140,000 troops on the border. Their actions in Swat and in South Waziristan have been helpful to us,” he said.
Mr Gates conceded that the US relationship with Pakistan was not what the Americans wished it were.
“I would say this administration has made a significant effort to try and change the nature of our relationship with Pakistan, in terms of a more enduring partnership,” he explained.
“And I would say that, obviously, the record is a mixed one. And we both have concerns, but there`s also no doubt in my mind that we have to continue to make our best efforts to manage this relationship going forward.”
Pakistan, he noted, was very important, “not just because of Afghanistan but because of its nuclear weapons, because of the importance of stability in the subcontinent. So we need to keep working at this”.